Modern Marketing Awards Case Studies Marketing & the Marginalized

How Goop’s tongue-in-cheek luxury diaper helped raise vital funds for struggling parents

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By Awards Analyst | writer

December 8, 2022 | 5 min read

Goop won at The Drum Awards for Social Purpose 2022 in the Public Awareness Campaign category for its luxury diaper. Here, we find out more about what went into this successful project.

Goop

The diaper retails at $120 for a pack of 12 to highlight the annual cost

It came as a shock to no one when Goop launched a luxury diaper. Lined with virgin alpaca wool, fastened with amber crystals, and infused with the scent of jasmine and bergamot, they are the ultimate luxury item – except they weren’t really for sale.

The brief

Goop wanted to start a conversation about the cost of diapers. Despite their absolute necessity, in 33 states in the US, they aren’t treated as an essential item, and instead taxed as a luxury good. Depending on the state, this sales tax can add between 1.5% and 7% to their cost.

This makes diapers the fourth-highest household expense among low-income families, according to Baby2Baby, a nonprofit organization committed to providing diapers and the basic necessities that every child deserves. Diapers are not covered by federal assistance programs like WIC or SNAP.

During the pandemic, Baby2Baby’s diaper requests have skyrocketed 505%. National shortages exacerbated the need. So Baby2Baby began manufacturing their own diapers, produced at a fraction of the cost to increase the number of children they serve.

In addition to distributing over 100 million diapers in the past 10 years, Baby2Baby championed the successful removal of the diaper tax in California, Florida, and Maryland. Over the next year, they expect to manufacture more than 30 million diapers for hundreds of thousands of families.

The idea

Designed to expose the ridiculousness of the tax, The Diapér is a disposable diaper lined with virgin alpaca wool and fastened with amber gemstones, known for their ancient emotional-cleansing properties. Infused with a scent of jasmine and bergamot, the diaper retails at $120 for a pack of 12 ($120 is what the diaper tax could cost families on an annual basis).

Founder Gwyneth Paltrow helped to create a video for the project, in which she (straight-faced) announced that Goop would be selling the Diapér on its website, without batting an eyelid.

The results

The video received widespread backlash, due to its ludicrous nature, but once viewers clocked onto the satire, the campaign was able to raise vital funds for Baby2Baby.

This campaign was a winner at The Drum Awards for Social Purpose 2022. You can see all the winners here. The Drum Awards for Marketing are currently open for entry. Find out how you can enter now.

Modern Marketing Awards Case Studies Marketing & the Marginalized

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