A new way to sell detergent
According to this WSJ story (subscription required), "the campaign for All [part of Unilever], now on television and in magazines, is as whimsical and low-key as most ads for laundry products are rational and hard-selling."
One commercial asks the question, "Why does the clean sock that falls on the laundry room floor attract all the dirt on the laundry room floor?" That is illustrated by four ugly animated characters, representing various types of filth, rising from the floor and dancing under a tiny mirrored disco ball. The party ends abruptly when All comes to the rescue, with the announcer saying: "Well, look on the bright side. All with stain lifters will get that dirt out - again."
The print ads take a similar approach to the commercials. One ad, showing a woman's pasta-eating accident, carries the headline, "White shirts put linguini in a dancin' mood." Another print ad, showing a party mishap, carries the headline, "The more wine you drink, the less likely you are to get it in your mouth." A third ad, showing a man holding up a tiny shirt, carries the headline, "Now your husband can get your clothes spring fresh while he shrinks them."