Big Noses

Read the campaign story

BGH's Big Noses promotion offered a discount through an unusual eligibility test: the size of a participant's nose. Contemporary coverage documented the Argentine campaign by September 2011, while the One Show archive recognized it in 2012. The work promoted an air-conditioner range and used a measuring device at retail locations, with a website helping people explore the offer. The exact original launch year is not established here, so the later award date is not used as a substitute.

The historical premise linked a large nose with needing more of the product's filtered air. That was comic advertising logic, not a medical or physiological conclusion. The measuring device turned the joke into an in-store event, and the discount supplied a practical reason to participate. Television, print and web communication directed attention toward the physical retail experience rather than leaving the idea as a film alone.

The mechanism was to make a promotion distinctive through a visible rule. Many discounts differ only in their percentage or duration. Here, the rule itself became the story and could be demonstrated quickly. The route from online interest to a store visit was also explicit. However, a memorable rule is not automatically a fair or respectful one, especially when it asks people to display or compare physical characteristics in public.

A modern adaptation should retain the clarity of the participation mechanism while choosing a non-personal criterion. A home store might invite customers to identify a reusable item they already own and offer a transparent repair workshop, without collecting facial images or measuring bodies. The terms should be accessible, easy to verify and unrelated to sensitive traits. Participation should remain voluntary, with no humiliation built into the entertainment.

The opened accounts establish the creative and retail mechanics, not independent evidence of product superiority or a causal sales effect. The filtration and health implications should not be inferred from the joke. Evaluation of an adaptation should ask whether people understand the offer, can access it fairly and find it useful. A promotion succeeds responsibly when the memorable rule helps the customer act, rather than making the customer the object of the campaign's amusement.

Make the rule easy to understand

A distinctive condition can create a story around an otherwise ordinary offer.

Avoid body-based participation

Choose criteria that do not require personal measurements or public embarrassment.

Separate humor from product claims

A joke about anatomy is not evidence of health or filtration benefits.

A small test for another brief

Create an accessible offer tied to a reusable object rather than a personal trait.

Measure comprehension, access and perceived fairness.

Stop if eligibility humiliates participants or excludes people without a justified reason.

• Choose a fair and easily verified participation condition.
• Publish complete terms beside the offer.
• Test the journey with adults without collecting personal images.