There’s always an insight that lights the fuse. The one for this specific firework show was this:

CONSUMER INSIGHT: People don’t wake up with a crying session in their calendar; however, the moments that cause them aren’t unpredictable–they’re woven into everyday life. 

BRAND INSIGHT: Kleenex brings the comfort of a soft, moisturized tissue while also adding aesthetic value with their box designs. 

A campaign wouldn’t become a campaign without the strategy. Without the strategy, it’s just a cool idea that falls flat when questioned.

For this campaign, we had to do some reverse engineering to recreate a strategy for this idea, and decided to take this approach:

STRATEGY: For the Sniffling Softies who fully surrender to emotional storytelling yet underestimate how hard it will hit, Kleenex will help them anticipate and prepare for those moments. offering comfort exactly when it’s needed.

This is where things get REAL.

This campaign centers on a simple truth: if you watch movies and shows the right way, you’re going to cry. Not maybe. Definitely. And yet, Sniffling Softies never think to grab a tissue until the tears are already ruining mascara, sleeves, and emotional stability.

We leaned into pop culture, predictability, and a little self-awareness, calling out the moments everyone knows will hurt. By meeting our audience where they emotionally spiral (Letterboxd, streaming services, group chats), we made being prepared feel smart, not dramatic.

Kleenex isn’t for when you’re sick.
It’s for when the movie wrecks you.

Through this process, I learned how essential strategy is; not just in building a campaign, but in sustaining one.

The Kleenex Score already existed as a concept, created by VML, but our task wasn’t to invent something new, it was to figure out why something with so much potential never fully landed. Going into it, I assumed we’d be able to trace the campaign back to a clear consumer insight, a defined problem, and a strategic throughline. Instead, we found ourselves reverse-engineering an idea that felt hollow: clever on the surface but unsupported by a clearly articulated strategy or audience rationale.

That experience was frustrating, but also incredibly eye-opening. Trying to rebuild a campaign without a strategic foundation made it immediately clear how difficult it is to justify creative decisions when there’s no insight anchoring them. We had to ask deeper questions: Who was this really for? What behavior was it meant to change? Why would anyone care enough to act?

Those gaps forced us to do the work the original campaign never clearly showed, to identify a real consumer tension, and to rebuild the idea around it.

Reframing the Kleenex Score through research and strategy completely changed its purpose. Instead of being a novelty, it became a tool grounded in a real behavior: Gen Z’s emotional immersion in movies and shows, and their lack of preparation for predictable emotional moments.

That shift reinforced for me that strategy isn’t optional. Like, at all.

Strategy is what gives an idea meaning, direction, and longevity.

This project solidified my belief that even the most interesting concepts will fall flat without a strategic backbone. Strategy is what turns a “cool idea” into a compelling, defensible campaign. Without it, creative becomes decoration. With it, creative becomes impactful, intentional, and impossible to ignore.