Clear: Bullish Boss
Unilever's Clear brand needed to differentiate itself in the crowded anti-dandruff market in Singapore and APAC. MullenLowe Singapore was tasked with moving beyond functional hygiene benefits to connect with high-achieving urban professionals. The goal was to highlight stress as a primary, yet often ignored, trigger for dandruff, positioning Clear as the essential defense for those in high-pressure careers.
Creative Idea
Used avant-garde Butoh dance as a visceral metaphor for stress-induced dandruff in corporate environments.
Clear visualized the internal psychological pressure of a high-stress workplace through the avant-garde Japanese art of Butoh dance, transforming the invisible cause of dandruff - stress - into a visceral, theatrical performance that resonated with overworked urban professionals.
The Avant-Garde Dance of Stress and Scalp
The Butoh Metaphor
To visualize the invisible trigger of stress, director James Teh and the team at MullenLowe Singapore bypassed traditional commercial tropes in favor of Butoh. This Japanese "dance of darkness" is characterized by grotesque, hyper - slow movements and white body paint, serving as a visceral physical manifestation of internal psychological pressure. By casting performers to execute these intense, erratic motions, the production transformed a corporate office into a theatrical stage, culminating in a "snowstorm" of dandruff that symbolized a total mental and physical breaking point.
Sonic Pressure and Minimalist Dialogue
The campaign’s impact relied almost entirely on non - verbal storytelling. Yessian New York crafted a meticulous sound design that emphasized the creaks, breaths, and atmospheric tension of the "Bullish Boss" character. This focus on audio over dialogue allowed the spot to transcend language barriers across the Asia-Pacific region. The production was supported by Bullet Bangkok and The Post Bangkok, ensuring the high - end cinematic finish required to pivot CLEAR from a basic hygiene product to a lifestyle essential for the "stressed professional" demographic.
A Theatrical Series
"Bullish Boss" was not a standalone execution but part of a broader strategic duo. Its counterpart, "Bridezilla," applied the same avant - garde Butoh lens to the high - pressure environment of a wedding day. Together, these spots marked a significant industry shift for Unilever, moving away from the "white lab coat" scientific demonstrations common in the 2010s toward a more psychological, art - house approach to consumer health. This bold creative pivot resulted in the campaign becoming the only Gold Lion winner for Film from Asia in its category that year.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
A high-performance anti-dandruff formula capable of handling the physical effects of extreme psychological conditions.
Category
Shampoo brands usually rely on clinical demonstrations, white lab coats, and generic shower-fresh tropes.
Customer
Urban professionals who feel physically and mentally overwhelmed by the relentless pressure of corporate environments.
Culture
The intense, visceral movements of Butoh dance perfectly mirror the internal explosion of modern workplace stress.
Company
A high-performance anti-dandruff formula capable of handling the physical effects of extreme psychological conditions.
Category
Shampoo brands usually rely on clinical demonstrations, white lab coats, and generic shower-fresh tropes.
Strategy:
Transform internal psychological tension into a visceral physical performance to validate the need for specialized scalp protection.
Customer
Urban professionals who feel physically and mentally overwhelmed by the relentless pressure of corporate environments.
Culture
The intense, visceral movements of Butoh dance perfectly mirror the internal explosion of modern workplace stress.
Strategy:
Transform internal psychological tension into a visceral physical performance to validate the need for specialized scalp protection.
Results
The campaign achieved significant industry cut-through as the only Gold Lion winner for Film from Asia in the Health & Wellness category at Cannes 2017. It garnered thousands of views on MullenLowe’s APAC social channels shortly after release. Beyond metrics, it successfully shifted the brand conversation from basic hygiene to stress-induced dandruff, positioning CLEAR as a lifestyle solution for urban professionals. The campaign was one of the most awarded pieces of creative work from Singapore in 2017–2018, securing a Gold Lion at Cannes, a Bronze at Adfest for Sound Design, and a Shortlist in Film Craft for Direction.
1
Only Gold Lion Film winner from Asia (Cannes 2017)
100%
Shift from hygiene to stress-induced dandruff positioning
3
Major international awards/shortlists (Cannes & Adfest)
Strategy Technique
Exaggerate to Reveal the Truth
By using an extreme, avant-garde dance form to represent a common office experience, the campaign forces the viewer to acknowledge the overlooked link between mental pressure and physical scalp health.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Analogy for the Problem
The campaign uses the intense, grotesque movements of Butoh dance as a physical metaphor for the internal explosion of stress that triggers scalp issues, making a biological process feel emotionally urgent.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign replaces traditional hygiene tropes with the avant-garde Japanese art of Butoh, using visceral physical performance to make the invisible psychological trigger of stress tangible.
The use of Butoh performers provided a grotesque and hyper-intense physical manifestation of internal corporate pressure.
Yessian New York created a meticulous sonic landscape of creaks and breaths that replaced dialogue to build atmospheric tension.
The stark, theatrical visual style and white body paint transformed a mundane office setting into a psychological stage.
The high-end cinematic finish and slow-motion capture emphasized the erratic, 'exploding' movements of the stressed scalp.
The synergy between the 'dance of darkness' (Butoh) and the absence of dialogue created a universal visual language that transcended regional barriers.
