In an innovative blend of influencer marketing and sonic branding, Kenvue’s Listerine brand is revolutionizing oral hygiene marketing by transforming everyday mouthwash sounds into original music through a groundbreaking partnership with Twitch content creators.
The “Wash Your Mouth Your Way” campaign represents a bold social-first marketing strategy designed to capture Gen Z audiences where they spend their time—on livestreaming platforms. By enlisting three prominent Twitch partners, Listerine is turning the familiar sounds of its products into an immersive musical experience that challenges traditional brand marketing approaches.
The Creative Strategy Behind the Campaign
The multi-phase campaign launches with a New Year’s Eve livestream featuring improvisational drummer officedrummer, who will transform Listerine’s signature sounds—from bottle caps popping to the swishing of mouthwash—into rhythmic compositions. This two-hour interactive session invites viewers to participate through live chat feedback, creating an authentic community-driven creative process.
Following streams on January 6 and 7 will spotlight a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist mcd00dle, leader of Twitch’s Women and Latin Guilds. Each creator will receive a custom Listerine sound pack and experiment with producing unique 30-second musical snippets that reflect their personal artistic style.
The campaign culminates on January 9, known as “Quitter’s Day”—when many people abandon their New Year’s resolutions—with all three creators collaborating in Los Angeles to produce a final collaborative track. This anthem will then soundtrack Listerine’s audio advertisements across Amazon Ads platforms, extending the campaign’s reach beyond Twitch.
Why This Matters for Brand Marketing
This campaign exemplifies several critical trends reshaping digital marketing strategies. First, it demonstrates how consumer packaged goods brands are embracing creator-led content over traditional advertising formats. By empowering Twitch partners to interpret Listerine’s brand identity through their unique creative lenses, the company builds authentic connections with communities that typically resist conventional marketing messages.
The timing around New Year’s resolutions and Quitter’s Day also shows strategic thinking. Rather than simply promoting product benefits, Listerine positions itself as a partner in establishing sustainable healthy habits, acknowledging the challenges people face in maintaining resolutions.
Additionally, the campaign taps into the growing importance of sonic branding. Research from a similar 2022 Tostitos campaign showed that distinctive audio branding drove brand recall up by 38 percent. By creating memorable musical content from product sounds, Listerine builds distinctive brand assets that resonate across multiple touchpoints.
The Rise of Social-First Marketing
Listerine’s approach reflects broader shifts in how brands engage with digital-native audiences. Twitch, acquired by Amazon, has evolved beyond gaming content to encompass music, creative arts, and lifestyle programming. For marketers, the platform offers direct access to highly engaged communities with real-time interaction capabilities that traditional media cannot match.
The campaign’s integration with Amazon Ads also demonstrates how streaming platforms are becoming comprehensive marketing ecosystems. Paid media placements during streams, including headliner spots and 15-second brand advertisements, complement the organic creator content to maximize campaign visibility and impact.
This strategy contrasts sharply with conventional influencer partnerships where brands simply sponsor content. Instead, Listerine has co-created an experience where the product becomes part of the creative process itself, generating genuine content that viewers actively want to engage with rather than skip past.
Looking Ahead
As brands compete for attention in increasingly crowded digital spaces, campaigns like Listerine’s “Wash Your Mouth Your Way” point toward the future of experiential marketing. By transforming mundane product interactions into shareable creative experiences, companies can break through consumer indifference and build meaningful brand associations.
The campaign’s success will likely inspire other consumer brands to explore how everyday product characteristics—sounds, textures, rituals—can become foundations for authentic creator collaborations. For Listerine, turning swishing sounds into streaming content may just be the beginning of a new era in oral care marketing.
