Kimberly-Clark PSA exposes unsanitary living conditions in Latin America

Such is the reason for ‘Where is the bathroom?,’ a PSA-style campaign from Kimberly-Clark, the holding company of paper-based hygiene brands including Cottonelle, Scott and Kleenex.

The campaign‘s anthem film, directed by Lujan Islas, was designed to give visibility to this crisis. In the spot, people hunting for apartments view a fully-furnished, well-lit flat. As they look around, they realize it has no bathroom, making them sit with the grim reality that millions of Latin Americans face every day.

The film’s cast includes El Salvador and Costa Rica-based influencers Alejandra Costas, Alejandro Rodriguez Cardona, Johanna Ortiz and Esteban Salazar, who later took to their socials to share their reaction with their followers.

“The campaign… is a call to reflect on something that we often take for granted, but for millions of people in Latin America is an unattainable luxury,” said Kenneth Hylton, Kimberly-Clark Family Care Latin America’s marketing director, in a statement shared with The Drum. “In addition to contributing to improving the living conditions of the most vulnerable communities in the region, we are committed to raising awareness about the importance of access to basic sanitation and will continue to use our voice to bring attention to the issue.”

The campaign builds on Kimberly-Clark’s ‘Bathrooms change lives’ program, a global initiative that has provided over five million people across Latin America access to safe bathrooms, drinking water and hygiene education since its inception in 2015.

The PSA, ideated and developed in tandem with creative agency R/GA, will go live across social channels in Latin America before launching globally. It comes nearly a week after World Water Day, a United Nations observance day that addresses the global water and sanitation crisis.

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