MullenLowe Singapore and CLEAR Men has clinched a win at the 2025 APAC Effie Awards, recognized for excellence in the multi-market category. The award demonstrates the brand’s ability to create a unified regional strategy with consistency and efficiency, while still honoring the nuances of individual markets.

In fast-growing markets such as Vietnam and Thailand, men’s care habits and cultural perceptions were changing rapidly. Gen Z consumers rejected hyper-masculine advertising, and showed had greater appetite for science-based scalp knowledge and relevance to personal lifestyles. This meant that CLEAR Men needed to rethink its strategy.

Our new campaign reframed this narrative by introducing a new face of masculinity: Erling Haaland. Football continued to be prominent in Vietnam and Thailand, but the new choice of ambassador shifted course from an invincible icon to a more approachable and authentic persona. The Norwegian footballer is known not only for his football prowess but also for his humor, relatability, and social media presence.

Launching with a 2.5-minute cinematic film, the campaign placed Erling in a tongue-in-cheek detective role, investigating the mystery of dandruff in a way that felt both entertaining and scientifically credible.

What made this win stand out was the balance of scale and localisation. A central strategy leveraged the insight that Vietnamese and Thai Gen Z men preferred long-form storytelling and character-driven plots. Yet, at the local level, both markets adapted the idea with their own influencers, creators and platform-specific content. This social-first approach ensured the campaign was able to “live and thrive in culture”, inviting men to see shampoo in a new light.

The results spoke volumes. In just three months, both Vietnam and Thailand saw double digits growth in sales turnover and significant lifts across key brand metrics including ad recall and purchase intent — best-in-class results for the region.

By uniting markets under a single, insight-driven campaign while adapting locally, CLEAR Men proved the power of a multi-market approach of how brands can achieve both consistency and cultural relevance — unlocking economies of scale without losing authenticity.