The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2021–2022
Tide sends 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and Ice-T to cold-call America into cold washing
Two celebrities whose names mean cold — 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and Ice-T — cold-call other stars so washing cold becomes a national joke and habit.
Tide (Procter & Gamble)
What it had to solve
Almost none of the energy in laundry is saved by consumers, because heating water consumes up to 90% of it — yet washing on hot was an ingrained habit in a low-interest category. Tide needed to make a small, invisible eco-behaviour worth talking about, not preaching about.
How it works
People don't realise that up to 90% of the energy used to do laundry disappears if the water isn't heated, so Tide set out to convince everyone to #TurnToCold. The obstacle was behavioural: detergent is a low-involvement buy, and washing on hot was the habit everyone grew up with.
Tide's answer was to put the message in the mouths of two 'cold' icons — pro wrestler 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and Law & Order actor Ice-T — and let them cold-call celebrities. Each call was an argument for cold water wrapped in a joke about the caller's own name.
The calls reached across pop culture — Vanilla Ice, Mr T, Annie Murphy and Gordon Ramsay were among those recruited to turn to cold — and the stunt later scaled to American football, with NFL teams and their fans washing cold.
Tide credited the campaign with over 1.3 billion new loads washed cold in its first ten months, more than a billion kilograms of CO2 saved, over 1.4 billion organic social impressions and a 39% sales lift for Tide Hygienic Clean. D&AD jurors called it a simple, fun solution to a complex problem with large-scale environmental impact.
Why it lands
- The casting is the idea: Stone Cold Steve Austin and Ice-T turn a dull energy statistic into a running joke that people want to pass on.
- It recruits proof through play — celebrities being cold-called make the behaviour social, so adoption spreads as conversation rather than as guilt.
- The media mix stayed traditional — broadcast, social, radio, in-store — which made the purpose message feel mainstream and American, exactly as intended.
- It linked a mass-market brand behaviour to a measurable environmental goal, giving the campaign a number to defend.
What it did
Tide reported more than 1.3 billion new loads washed cold in the first ten months, over a billion kilograms of CO2 saved, more than 1.4 billion organic social impressions and a 39% sales lift for the featured Tide Hygienic Clean.
What you can take
For a purpose-driven behaviour change, make the messenger embody the message: when the spokespeople are themselves the joke, education travels as entertainment instead of being tuned out.
Since then
The campaign ran through 2021 and later added an NFL chapter, and it was recognised at the 2022 One Show with a Sustainable Development Goals Pencil. It remains in the D&AD awards archive as an example of a big brand using straightforward marketing to push a purpose-driven change at scale.
Sources
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