Dive Brief:

• Lysol is running a karaoke experience to promote its new Lysol Air Sanitizer, which claims to kill 99.9% of airborne viruses and bacteria, per a press release. The pop-up, dubbed Air-aoke, will appear at the Music Midtown festival in Atlanta from Sept. 15-17.
• Festival attendees can sign up for Air-aoke and select a song by scanning a QR code at the activation. As they sing, artistic depictions of viruses and bacteria will appear on LED screens, after which Lysol will literally remove them from the air and digitally erase them from the screens.
• The Reckitt brand tapped actress-singer Christina Milian to take on Air-aoke at the festival and is working with various influencers to create music-forward content on TikTok and Instagram. The continued push behind Lysol Air Sanitizer comes as COVID-19 is again surging around the world.

Dive Insight:

Lysol’s Air-aoke pop-up demonstrates how experiential marketing has come full circle more than three years after the pandemic put a stop to in-person activations, including ones that involve singing — just one minute of which produces 1,000 virus and bacteria-filled droplets, according to the brand.

Inspired by immersive art exhibits, Air-aoke uses LED technology to illustrate the power of Lysol Air Sanitizer, an EPA-approved product that claims to kill 99.9% of airborne viruses and bacteria while also eliminating odors. The pop-up uses karaoke to lighten the mood around a topic that is still fraught for many, especially as COVID-19 is again surging and new vaccine booster shots roll out.

“With the introduction of Air-aoke, we’re able to showcase Lysol Air Sanitizer’s efficacy in a unique way while empowering consumers with the knowledge and tools they need to fight airborne pathogens,” said Benoit Veryser, vice president of U.S. marketing for Lysol at Reckitt, in a statement.

To boost the Air-aoke experience, the brand is calling on celebrity Milian to step up to the microphone at Music Midtown. To expand the campaign beyond the music festival, Lysol is engaging influencers on social channels including TikTok and Instagram. As part of the push, musician SidClusive created a backing track for creators Samyra, Citizen Queen and Quazzomodo to duet with with their own verses inspired by the product.

The Reckitt brand in July launched Lysol Air Sanitizer with a marketing campaign that utilized visual storytelling to illustrate its pathogen-killing power in ads across digital, linear and connected TV. The messaging centered on the theme of “Scent Can’t Sanitize,” dinging air freshener competitors that might eliminate stink but don’t offer any health benefits.