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S a t u r d a y, A u g u s t 2 3 , 2 0 0 8

DOESNT LOSE SUCTION CAMPAIGN

OVERVIEW
After experiencing years of success in Europe, the highpriced, Britishmade
DysonvacuumbeganappearingintheUnitedStatesin2002duringatimeof
recession and a waning U.S. vacuum industry. Nevertheless James Dyson
the vacuums creator and Dyson Ltd.s president and spokesmanstood
resolutethathisfilterless,baglessvacuumwouldsucceedstateside.Awarded
Dysonsadvertisingbudgetin2002,theadagencyFallonWorldwidelaunched
theDoesntLoseSuctioncampaigntototeDysonssuperiortechnologyinan
industrythat,accordingtoDyson,neededimprovement.
With a $14.4 million budget, Fallon released Doesnt Lose Suction across
television and print during the second week of October 2003. James Dyson
appeared in some 30second television spots while only providing the voice
overs for others. In the first spot James Dyson soberly explained the
shortcomings of traditional vacuums, specifically, the clogging of their filters
and bags. He then admitted to spending 14 years developing a vacuum that
usedcentrifugetechnologytospinthedirtoutofairat100,000timestheforce
of gravity. Dyson vacuums were easy to empty, never clogged, and boasted
more suction power than traditional vacuums. The spot ended with a black
backgroundshotofthenewDysonvacuum.
SoonafterthecampaignsreleaseDysonvaultedpastitscompetitorsandwent
from a zero percent market share to being Americas topselling vacuum in
2005.ThesuccessofDysonvacuums,whichretailedbetween$399and$550,
actually increased the entire vacuum industrys price tags, which had
previously averaged $95 to $125. Our goal is to completely change the way
vacuumsaremarketedintheU.S.,DougKellam,presidentofDyson,Chicago
(the companys U.S. headquarters), told Advertising Age. Dysons marketing
involved blatantly stating its technical advantages over the competition and
thenunflinchinglyattachinganexorbitantpricetag.BesidesincreasingDysons
salesthecampaignalsosnaggedasilverEFFIEadvertisingawardin2005.

HISTORICALCONTEXT
In1970,whilestudyingattheRoyalCollegeofArt,theinventoranddesigner
James Dyson released his first creation, the Sea Truck. His subsequent
inventions included a wheelbarrow and a boat ramp that used inflatable balls
instead of wheels. He started working on a bagless vacuum cleaner in 1978.
Before Dyson decided to market the revolutionary vacuum himself, he
approached the Hoover Company in the 1980s with his bagless, filterless
vacuum idea. Hoover wouldnt give it the time of day. They said: Bags are
best.Bagswillalwaysbebest.Thentheycopiedit,theinventorsaidinThe
Story of Dyson, a booklet included with every Dyson vacuum. James Dyson
spent 14 years perfecting his vacuum. It used centrifugal force to keep dirt
spinningalongtheinnercylindersinsideswhilethesuctionchamberremained
unobstructed. The effect was similar to that of a tornado. The first Dyson
model,theDysonCyclone,wasreleasedintheUnitedKingdomin1993.The
company put almost all profit back into development over the next 12 years,
expanding Dysons team from 3 scientists to 350. In an interview with
AdvertisingAge,Dysonsglobalmarketingdirector,ClareMullin,reiteratedthe
companys commitment to development, saying, Were an engineeringled
company, not a marketingled company. Most of Dysons European success
was attributed to word of mouth. Many analysts believed Dyson vacuums
would flop in America. When the product arrived in 2002, the United States
was in a recession, and analysts doubted that consumers would be able to
justify spending $429.99 on a vacuum. James Dyson disagreed. Speaking to
the Times of London, he explained, Vacuum cleaners are quite recession
proofbecausepeopleretrenchbackintothehome.Ifyoulookbackhistorically,
the sales dont drop at the time of recession. As evidence he mentioned
DysonsstrongsalesduringtheUnitedKingdomsrecessionin1993.
AccordingtotheTimesofLondon,thecompanydecidedtouseFallonasitsad
agency because, in the words of James Dyson, We liked the style, they are
educational.BelievingthatAmericanswouldbedrawntoDysonstechnology,
FalloncraftedDysonspotstobeinstructive.Dysonfurtherexplained,Ourads
are never funny, they are almost boring. I think vacuuming is serious and I
dontthinkitssomethingtojokeabout.Bymid2005DysonandFallon,citing
strategicdifferences,haddiscontinuedtheirrelationship.

TARGETMARKET
DoesntLoseSuctiontargeted30to40yearoldsalongwithasubgroupof
allergy sufferers and pet owners. With the latter in mind, Dyson promoted its
vacuumsatdogandcatshows.Oneoftheproductstechnologicaladvantages
overbagorfiltervacuumswasitsabilitytocollectfinedustandashwithoutthe
particles affecting vacuum suction. Suction to consumers is very important,
andDysonasamarketerclaimedsomethingthatresonatedwithconsumers,
Bill McLaughlin, executive editor at HomeWorld Business Magazine, told
Advertising Age. Dyson had reportedly spent very little on advertising in
Europe,whereravesaboutthevacuumsadvantageswerespreadbywordof
mouth.ButthecompanytookadifferentapproachtoAmericabecause,asthe
Times of London stated, the US is too big a place to rely on conversations
overthegardenfence.Attheendof2003Dysonairedtelevisionspotsacross
majorAmericannetworkandcablechannels.Itsmadforusnottohavebeen
here. If we are just half as successful as we have been in Britain, well be
selling3.5millionvacuumcleaners,JamesDysontoldtheTimesofLondon.
BeforeAmericanscouldevenbuythevacuum,skepticsclaimedthatDysons
pricetagwoulddeterconsumers.DysonisaleadingbrandinEuropeatthose
highprices,buttheAmericanconsumersmentalityisprice,price,price,Gerry
Beatty,asenioreditoratHomeFurnishingsNews,toldAdvertisingAge.Dyson
vacuumsarrivedfirstinAmericanspecialtystoresandtheninTargetstores.As
the brands popularity blossomed, its vacuums were sold by Best Buy, Home
Depot, and Linens N Things. Reflecting upon Dysons success, Norman
Axelrod,chairmanandCEOofLinensNThings,explainedtoAdvertisingAge,
[The Dyson vacuum] becomes our best seller simply because there is
somethingnewandsomethingexcitingaboutit,sothereisnotaresistanceto
pricepoints.

COMPETITION
When Dyson vacuums first appeared in America in 2002, the Hoover brand,
ownedbytheMaytagCorporation,wasleadingtheAmericanvacuumindustry
with a 25 percent market share. After an incredible twoyear spurt, Dyson
knockedHooverdowntoa16percentmarketshareandclaimed21percent.
Hoover tried scrambling back by releasing vacuums outfitted with the Fusion
Cyclonic Filtration System, a technology modeled after Dysons vacuums. By
2005Hooverwasspending$47milliononadvertisingwithitsnew,Dysonlike
tagline, No Loss of Suction. Hoover also released a vacuum model, called
WindTunnel, that boasted 56 percent more suction than Dyson. The claim
appeared in Hoovers television spots, which were created by Element 79
Partners.
TheLouisianabasedOreckCorporation,manufacturerofuprightandcanister
vacuums, took Dyson to court in 2005 after claiming Dysons Doesnt Lose
Suction tagline was literally false. Dyson countersued with a similar
accusation about Orecks tagline Maintains Suction Power. Orecks main
advertising push used infomercials and direct mailers, but the company
occasionally aired television spots starring David Oreck, the companys
founderandspokesperson,oncableandbroadcastTV.One30secondspotin
2005showedhimoutfittedasamagician,asking,Wanttomakeyourpethair
magically disappear? The spot then cut to David Oreck promising that an
Oreckvacuumcouldcleaneveryruginyourhome,whilehistoupeefluttered
from vacuum suction. The spot ended with an owl clinging to the end of his
Oreck XL broom. Advertising Age reported that David Oreck venomously
attributedDysonssuccesstothesuperioradvertisingofaninferiormachine.

MARKETINGSTRATEGY
DoesntLoseSuctionspotsfirstairedinOctober2003onnetworkandcable
channelssuchasA&E,Lifetime,HGTV,andTLC.Toreachthecompanys30
to 40yearold target market, print ads appeared in conscientious magazines
suchasMetropolitanHome,Parenting,andO:TheOprahMagazine.Printads,
like the television spots, dwelled on product innovation. One ad read, While
everyoneelsewasfiddlingwithheadlightsorstifferbristles,someonewentand
reinventedthewholemachine.
Initial television spots for the campaign featured either James Dyson or his
voiceover convincingly explaining his vacuums advantages. The campaigns
second spot started with the camera panning across sadlooking vacuums
from the competition. James Dysons steady British voice began, Ever since
the vacuum cleaner was invented, its had a basic design flaw. Bags, filters:
they all clog with dust and then lose suction. The technology simply doesnt
work. The camera then stopped on Dyson standing, literally, behind his
product. He continued, So I spent 14 years developing one that does. The
DysonCyclonescreate100,000timestheforceofgravitytospinthedirtoutof
theair.Sonothinggetscloggedever.
TheDoesntLoseSuctioncampaignemployedpromotionsoutsidetraditional
vacuumindustry mediums. Dysons DC11 canister vacuum appeared in a
windowdisplayattheupscaledepartmentstoreBarneysNewYork.Aspartof
Fallons strategy to target pet owners, Dyson vacuums were given away in
competitors goody bags at the Westminster Dog Show. Similar to what
Dysons brand had experienced in Europe, people in the United States were
talking about their Dyson vacuums. Mullin told Advertising Age that all
economic groups were buying it literally because of the performance of the
vacuum cleaner. The clear shell and different shape of the Dyson vacuum
warranteditsexhibitattheMetropolitanMuseumofArtinNewYork,theSan
Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Science Museum in London, and the
PompidouCentreinParis.IndevelopingthecampaignFallonwaschallenged
todeviateoutsidetraditionalvacuumadvertising,whichincludeddirectmailers
and hucksterstyle television spots. We knew from the beginning what we
didntwant,MichaelHart,copywriterandgroupcreativedirectoratFallon,told
Brandweek. No dancing moms vacuuming. No longhaired cats shedding in
thebackground.Nobowlingballsbeingsuckedup.Justthevacuum,theman
who invented it and why its better. Dyson increased measured media
spending from $755,200 in 2002 to $14.4 million by 2003. In 2004 Dyson
continuedincreasingitsadvertisingbudget,bringingthesumto$16.1millionin
the first seven months. During the Doesnt Lose Suction campaign Dyson
released new models, such as the DC15, a machine that employed an
inflatable ball for a more agile wheelbase. James Dyson continued providing
the voiceovers for the DC15 spots. James does a very good job of being
himself on camera, Mike Gibbs, group creative director at Fallon, told
AdvertisingAge.

OUTCOME
Defying industry analysts, excelling from zero U.S. market share to U.S.
market leader in three years, and revolutionizing one of the worlds most
popularappliances,Dysonunderwentanincredibleamountofgrowthduringits
DoesntLoseSuctioncampaign.Theyhavearadicallydifferentthinggoing.
. . Its a great new brand, David Lubars, president and executive creative
director at Fallon, told Adweek. The campaign also earned a silver EFFIE
awardintheHouseholdFurnishingsandAppliancescategoryin2005.
Many critics praised the campaign for its frank, confident delivery, which
portrayed James Dyson as a man so moved by his own invention that he
himself believed Americans would be compelled to buy it after hearing his
explanation. The approach, according to Dyson, not only worked but also
prodded the entire vacuum industry to improve hardware and advertising.
DavidOreck,thefounderofDysonsfiercecompetitorOreck,agreedwiththis
assessment, telling Advertising Age that Dysons strategy of focusing on its
vacuumstechnologyinsteadofonpricepointshadhelpedAmericasvacuum
industrytoundergoaconstructivechange.

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