Persil's Oscars ad sees 'The Professional' become an action hero

Henkel's Persil ProClean is running a commercial during ABC's Oscar broadcast in which the super clean-looking actor Peter Hermann reprises his role as the "Professional" in epic action movie style. "The Chase" stars Hermann as a James Bond-like figure in a sparkling white tux, chasing a female jewel thief in an exciting getaway sequence that involves daring rooftop jumps and stunts. When he eventually catches up with her, he announces that he's here not to recapture the diamonds she's stolen, but for "the stains" that now adorn her jacket. Having cleaned her up, he leaps on a Persil-branded truck announcing that the "next stain awaits." Created via DDB New York, and directed by Stink's Keith McCarthy, the campaign puts the "Professional" character, who first appeared in a Super Bowl spot in 2016, in a more cinematic setting for the first time. As well as the TV ad, which will run as a 30 second version during ABC's Academy Awards broadcast on Sunday, the agency also created a "movie poster" image (below) that will run on social media. "We wanted to do the unexpected with this campaign in a way that is fun and memorable, and also super disruptive for the category," said Mat Bisher, chief creative officer at DDB New York, in a statement. "What’s better than a chase scene with someone who wants to tackle stains vs. capturing a criminal?” "Ultimately, our goal was to have this new Persil campaign continue to drive our equity and expand our audience by inviting consumers to try the brand," added Alan Wolpert, president & regional head of laundry & home care, North America at Henkel. "This category is heavily cluttered and so we are employing a disruptive approach to both entertain while also elevating the cleaning power behind the Persil brand’s product efficacy." An earlier version of this story stated that the commercial was Persil's first Oscars ad, due to inaccurate information supplied by the agency.

Persil's Oscars ad sees 'The Professional' become an action hero

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