Ypê Bring Sustainability to Life

Ypê is a Brazilian household name brand, making detergents and other laundry products. Their 2022 ad is a celebration of the Ypê Green line of eco-friendly products and their sustainability credentials, standing out among various communications addressing these issues. That’s why they’re our LATAM Ad Of The Month.  

We know how difficult it is to make successful ads on sustainability themes. Our Greenprint reports for the UK and USA, and soon Brazil, highlighted the balance such ads need to strike between branded messaging, entertainment, and calls to meaningful action. The situation in Brazil and other LatAm markets is little different. Consumers want to make sustainable choices and take actions to protect the environment; brands need to make those choices and actions easy. 

Ypê have a head start in this kind of messaging – their name itself refers to the Ipê tree which grows all over the region. And plants play a starring role in this ad, with potted plants and fern leaves dancing to the funky retro soundtrack. A goldfish and a macaw join in the fun too, and of course so do the human characters. All the while the ad gives us facts about the progress Ypê has made in its sustainability goals. Over 1 million trees planted. Over 250 rivers cared for. A 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

The point of the ad is that Ypê has a double mission – it looks after your home at the same time as it looks after the environment, so the Ypê Green Line means making sustainable choices is easier. It’s an upbeat, positive message and it shows up repeatedly in the key associations for the ad – while the top one is “Cleaning”, all the rest of the Top 5 are environmental and sustainability associations. And they all provoke extremely positive feelings. That’s part of why the ad overall scores a very strong 4.5-Stars, as well as Exceptional brand fluency, showing that Ypê are communicating their brand well at the same time as making viewers feel good. 

What’s the secret of how Ypê’s ad cuts through and entertains where so many sustainability commercials don’t? The answer lies in how well the ad appeals to the right-brain. With plenty of non-verbal communication between its stars, vivid animated and animal characters, and a strong melodic soundtrack, Ypê’s ad is full of elements proven to attract the attention of the right side of the brain and build long-term effectiveness. The secret to good advertising around sustainability is never to forget to entertain, for commercial and environmental gain.