As Seen In Advertising Age
Reprinted with Permission - May 19, 1997
Windex Outdoor in Test in the South SC Johnson, newspapers tie ads to weather
By Jack Neff and Ann Marie Kerwin
S.C. Johnson & Son is testing an outdoor version of its Windex window cleaner in 20 mostly Southern states using an ad campaign whose schedule changes with the weather.
Windex Outdoor was launched in April, backed by newspaper, TV, radio and outdoor ads from Foote, Cone & Belding, Chicago.
Through a deal that Johnson made with the Newspaper National Network, the print ads run only on weeks when weather forecasts call for good weekend weather.
WEATHER CONSCIOUS
"We certainly know that outdoor window cleaning is related to the weather, so weÃve tied the media very closely with that," said Pat Penman, director of media and promotional services for S.C. Johnson.
But "The whole thing isnÃt geared around weather," she said, noting that local TV and radio ads run regardless of weather conditions.
Newspaper ads slated to run on Thursdays and Fridays in 86 papers throughout the region get the final OK only if the five-day forecast on the previous Tuesday calls for sunny, warm weekend weather.
The NNN monitors the weather through the Weather Channel’s World Wide Web site.
Some of the markets that already have had several weekends of good weather have exhausted their ad schedules, said Nicholas Cannistraro Jr., NNN president, while other markets still have ads left to run.
USE WITH GARDEN HOSE
Windex Outdoor is designed to be used with a garden hose and an attachment that produces a high-pressure spray.
A switch on the reusable sprayer unit allows water to come through without any cleaner for a final rinse.
Johnson officials said itÃs the only product on the market formulated to cut through outdoor window grime. It’s also designed to clean without requiring hand-drying of windows or removal of screens.