How the 'Kleenex Score' Turned Movie Tears into Sales

Inside the brand's IMDB tie-in blending content and commerce

When Kleenex approached us, their challenge was clear but tricky. They needed a commerce-driven campaign—not just another brand awareness push. The goal was direct sales. But tissues are not an impulse buy. People don’t usually think about them until they need one.

So, we asked ourselves: When do people need a tissue the most?

The answer was right in front of our noses: when they watch movies.

Films have an unmatched ability to stir emotions, making audiences laugh, gasp, and, most importantly for us—cry. If we could anticipate those emotional moments before they happened, we could position Kleenex right at the perfect movie-night companion.

The Insight: Emotional Movies Create Purchase Moments

People search for movies every day, whether they’re picking a film for a night in or just staying up-to-date with what’s trending. Many even expect to cry when watching emotional films. Just think about the last time you braced yourself before pressing play on a tearjerker.

That’s where the “Kleenex Score” came in.

Instead of simply running ads for tissues, we created a tool that added value: a metric that rated how likely a movie was to make viewers cry. The higher the “Kleenex Score,” the more tissues you’d want nearby.

The Execution: Meeting People Where They Cry

We needed the “Kleenex Score” to live where movie lovers naturally go to discover films. So, we teamed up with IMDb, the world’s largest movie database that everyone visits whenever they need to learn about all thing cinema related.

Through this partnership, we integrated the score into IMDb’s platform. Users searching for films would see the score alongside ratings and reviews, helping them decide not only what to watch, but whether they should have tissues on hand.

The Perfect Moment: Oscars Season

We launched just before the Academy Awards, when audiences were actively searching for emotional, award-worthy films. This way, we managed to capitalize on high traffic while making Kleenex part of the conversation around the most emotionally powerful movies of the year.

Whether people were looking up nominees or revisiting past winners, the “Kleenex Score” was there to guide them—subtly reminding them that big emotions call for soft tissues.

The Results: Blending Content and Commerce

By embedding Kleenex into the movie discovery experience, we turned film-watching into a natural trigger for tissue purchases. Instead of disruptive ads, we gave people a reason to think about Kleenex before they needed it.

Effectiveness came from simplicity—Kleenex was there before anyone even realized they needed it. Every search, every movie night, every tear-jerking moment became a reminder that Kleenex was the perfect co-star for emotional films.

And that’s how, after months of hard work, we turned tears into sales.