Listerine sets new world record for 'Most People Using Mouthwash Simultaneously'

On the occasion of World Oral Health Day on September 12, mouthwash brand Listerine conducted an on-ground activity, which called for people to set a new world record and also urged Indians to include mouthwash in their daily oral care regime.

Discussing the awareness drive, Tushar Murdeshwar, head, marketing, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Division, India says, "We are committed to provide consumers with complete oral health, with our essential oil-based Listerine Mouthwash. We hope that this record will help increase awareness among consumers to include mouthwash as part of their regime."

The drive was ideated, planned and executed by Group M's Dialect. Soumik Sarkar, business director, Dialect tells afaqs! that the planning took close to two months. On September 11, a day before the event, banners were put up in the mall to attract registration for participation and pledges. The event kicked off at 4 pm on Sunday and lasted for about two hours. At the conclusion of the event, the Guinness certificate was awarded by Jack Brockbank from Guinness World Record, London, who was present as the official adjudicator.

Sarkar shares that while contacting the Guinness team would have been quite difficult about five years ago, it's not the same now. With easy Internet access, reaching them was not a task, and they were contacted in the last couple of weeks of the planning stage.

Interestingly, shaving brand Gillette had organised the Mach3 Shave India Movement on similar lines. As part of the movement, 2,000 men shaved their faces in public, using the new Gillette Mach3 razor. And by participating in the Shaveathon, the men also created India's first shaving record in the Limca Book of Records, for the most number of men shaving in a day at the same place.

The activity got an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records as well; and went on to win many awards, including a Silver Lion at Cannes 2010.

On whether the Listerine event was inspired by Gillette's Shaveathon, Sarkar says, "In the case of Gillette, it was an event well woven into the brand story; whereas for Listerine, it was an off-hand, standalone sort of activity. But we're hoping to build a lot more consumer engagement for the brand." He adds, smiling, "And yes, we do hope to win some accolades for the activity going forward."

Let's wait and watch if the 'world record' magic works for Listerine as well...