Goodwipes is making a strategic push to unseat traditional toilet paper by turning bathroom banter into brand fame. At Adweek’s Brandweek Brand Doing Cool Sh*t Experience, co-founder Sam Nebel and svp of marketing Meredith Diehn explained how the challenger brand uses humor and unexpected partnerships to erase the category’s lingering taboo.
From campus evangelists to category disruptor
Founders Sam Nebel and Charlie Siciak began at Florida State University as self-described “baby wipes evangelists,” when talking about wiping was still socially awkward. That origin shapes the brand’s current playbook: make the uncomfortable conversation impossible to ignore.
Diehn said the brand’s recent collaborations are designed to achieve two objectives: fame and disruption. A Liquid Death team-up introduced limited-edition sCREAM Soda-scented wipes and a “Buttler Sweepstakes,” where one winner receives a live-in butt-wiper. The shared tagline, “Death to Dry,” connects hydration in different forms—while delivering the shock value Goodwipes deliberately seeks.
Shock value with a strategic layer
Diehn told the Brandweek audience that the best partnerships may not look obvious at first. “Sometimes it doesn’t necessarily make sense at first glance, and that’s the whole point,” she said. “We want that little bit of shock value, and then when you peel back the layers you say ‘oh wait, this actually does make a lot of sense.’”
That logic also guided an April Fool’s collaboration with prebiotic soda brand Olipop. The limited-edition wipes scent inspired by Peaches & Cream used the line “Treat your butt as good as your gut.” Because Olipop already talks about fiber and digestive health, the bathroom tie-in felt natural rather than forced.
What marketers can borrow
The Goodwipes approach holds several transferable lessons for consumer brands trying to disrupt a mature category:
- Use unexpected partners to generate earned attention. Fame is a stated objective, not a by-product.
- Make the shock lead to logic. A headline-grabbing collaboration should have a strategic “oh, that makes sense” layer.
- Join existing conversations instead of creating new ones. Diehn said the brand taps into “mini-moments” such as the “hot girls have IBS” trend or runners pooping during races, where communities already discuss bathroom realities.
- Blend humor with credible education. Diehn said the brand balances crass bathroom humor with clinical explanations of butt health to give people permission to talk about behavior change.
For marketing teams, this is a reminder that category disruption rarely comes from outspending the incumbent. It comes from changing the language people use to discuss the category—and giving them a memorable reason to switch.
A holiday push and the road ahead
Goodwipes’ next major campaign will run around the holidays, reminding consumers to stock up on bathroom essentials before guests arrive. It’s a timely use of an everyday anxiety—proof that even taboo categories can be marketed with wit if the message stays relevant.
Source: Adweek
