DTC soap brand's first Super Bowl ad reaps rewards in market share

Dive Brief:

Despite the risk of putting millions into its first Super Bowl ad, DTC brand Dr. Squatch's top seller gained the largest lift in market share in the beauty category at about 200% compared to its January average, according to recent data from Profitero emailed to Retail Dive. The increase is based on an analysis of movement in Best Seller Rank during the game.
The direct-to-consumer men's soap brand received almost twice as much of a lift as its closest Super Bowl advertising competitor, per the report. Scotts Miracle-Gro gained 106% in lawn and patio, Doritos 3D Crunch gained 103% in grocery and Mountain Dew Major Melon gained 100% in grocery.
Dr. Squatch's ad drove traffic on Amazon, making it one of the most searched terms compared to other Super Bowl advertisers, second only to "Jason Alexander Hoodie," the data said. Both "Dr Squatch" and "Cheetos crunchy pop mix" were up 492% in search-term popularity on Amazon.

Dive Insight:

While some big brands skipped launching Super Bowl ads and opted for cost-effective advertising methods, Profitero's data indicates that Dr. Squatch emerged as a winner among participating brands.

Dr. Squatch ranked sixth among the ads that drove the most online engagement, data from EDO indicates. Viewers for the game, however, dropped 15% from the previous year, according to Samba TV.

Airing ads during the Super Bowl comes at a hefty price tag. For every 30-second ad, brands have to drop about $5.6 million, according to Kantar.

Findings from YouTube indicate that viewership for Super Bowl ads on the channel rose 70% from last year. Dr. Squatch's quirky Super Bowl ad taglined "You're Not A Dish" takes aim at synthetic ingredients found on some soap brands and drew over 2.5 million views on YouTube as of this week. A 2018 ad on its YouTube channel has over 114 million views.

Even before the Super Bowl ad, the self-care company was claiming investor attention. Dr. Squatch, founded in 2013, raised about $1.3 million on its latest seed funding in 2019, almost a year after its 2018 YouTube ad went viral, according to PitchBook data.

Dr. Squatch owned 100% of its page on Amazon when consumers looked them up at kick-off, Profitero's report said. However, some smaller brands tried to benefit from Dr. Squatch's ads by appearing on the front page of the soap company's search results by halftime.

Viral ads have been one way DTC brands have moved from the sidelines into the spotlight, with Purple Mattress becoming well-known for its quirky advertising style and Dollar Shave Club owing much of its initial success to its humorous commercials. As brands that sell primarily online, digital marketing is a key part of DTC strategy, but high customer acquisition costs have also begun to eat away at profitability as popular brands sink more money into growth.