If you come across it in your nightly viewing, pay attention to the new "Let It Out" ad campaign for Kleenex....


It updates the venerable brand through clever use of story, the appropriate inclusion of "real" people (and - by that I mean, where it makes sense and not just using them because it is "hip" or it worked for Dove) , and a catchy tune.
From the quick clips in the piece, it seems that the ad team plopped a sofa and table, with necessary box of Kleenex, in the middle of a variety of cities, and a normal-guy interviewer got random people to share emotional stories -- thus, forcing the use of a tissue from their freshly re-designed box. (I can't find any history or explanation of the campaign on the site, per se -- so I'm making this up, based on what it appears they have done.)
Like the public radio success, Storycorps (my, how I love all the orange on their site, by the way), they appear to be tapping average people for the incredible stories and memories that reside just under the surface of daily life. It really doesn't take much for most people to "let it out" as Storycorps listeners can attest, for one -- and as seems to be demonstrated by these Kleenex interviews. Furthermore - and though gaining in advertising industry popularity - using real/non-model people appropriately (there's that word again) remains a fresh approach for many a brand.
Though it seems to be in beta mode for now, the look/feel/tone/sound of the Let It Out site (and a planned blog) does have continuity with the television ad campaign, and offers glimmers of fun stuff to come. I signed up to monitor how it evolves.
Though any campaign can be dissected coming and going by us critical marketing types, this one feels right to me. I suspect Let It Out will be quite effective for the average Joe and Josephina tissue consumer.
The televison ad gets an A, and I look forward to seeing how the Web site and any print or promotional campaigns develop.