Signal continues with night time brushing campaign in 2012

Signal, the oral care expert of Unilever Sri Lanka, to further its success last year with the ‘Night Time Brushing’ campaign, is launching a similar campaign to further encourage consumers, especially children on nighttime oral care. The campaign named ‘21 day Brush & Dance Challenge’ will be launched soon where both parents and children will be encouraged to brush their teeth in the night for 21 consecutive days.

Throughout the past five decades, Signal has been talking to generations of mothers about teeth, toothpaste, toothbrushes and more recently, the importance of getting their kids to brush their teeth twice daily, as nighttime brushing is considered a chore by both the parent and child.

Research has confirmed that kids are more likely to brush their teeth if they do it together with their parents in a fun yet educational way and so Signal launched the ‘Night Time Brushing’ campaign last year which was entirely a habit transformation programme.

Signal Brand Manager Mihira Kulatunga said, “The science of sharing research which has been carried out over the past few years by Signal proves that doing things together with children increases the likelihood of them adopting a new behaviour – the likely time to adopt a new behaviour it takes around 21 days of repeated action. Therefore Signal launched the campaign to promote and preserve oral hygiene of the Sri Lankan consumer.”

Research has also indicated that brushing day and night with fluoride toothpaste can cut tooth decay up to 50 per cent for children. The most recent oral health report conducted in Sri Lanka reveals the state of the nation’s children’s teeth. According to this report, on average, Sri Lankan children only start brushing their teeth regularly at the age of 14, leaving plenty of time beforehand for oral disease to set in. Worryingly, 70 per cent of the people in Sri Lanka admit that they don’t brush their teeth the recommended minimum of twice a day.

In order take forward last year’s initiative, the 2012 campaign named ‘Night Time Brush & Dance Challenge’ targets parents and kids, encouraging them to engage in a dance act while brushing their teeth at night. The campaign will kick off on 1 May. All parents have to do is the pick up the Signal 160g ‘Night Time brushing Pack’ which has 21 day sticker sheet and get their kids to brush and dance.

At the end of the 21 days of brushing, the parents have to send in their child’s calendar with the stickers pasted to a P.O. box number 2120 mentioned on the calendar which will be entered into a draw (closing date 31 July). From the draw 10 lucky children will receive gift vouchers from Lumala worth Rs. 25,000 while their parents will receive Rs. 75,000 in cash. Furthermore, it gives another opportunity for 50 lucky winners to win a bag of toys everyday from 1 to 21 May by sending an SMS after they brush their teeth at night.

One of last year’s winners, Dr. Ajith Fernando speaking about the programme said, “Hygienic habit formation at a very young stage is very crucial in order to lead an active and healthy life in the adult years. In this context, I appreciate what Signal is doing and request all parents to encourage their children to engage in nighttime brushing with a fluoridated toothpaste.”