Clorox Neuroscience Experiment Says Cleaning Brings Joy
Cleaning brings consumers joy, say scientists hired by the Clorox Company.
The company is running a Clean Feels Good marketing campaign that mixes science and consumer behavior to determine whether cleaning can feel as enjoyable as top feel-good activities. To do so, Clorox partnered with neurotech company Emotiv to run an experiment that used electroencephalography (EEG) technology to measure positive emotions, enthusiasm, and motivation.
Thirty participants donned head sensors while performing routine cleaning tasks, such as wiping coffee rings from kitchen counters and cleaning the toilet, and Clorox and Emotiv compared it to data collected during events such as massages and drinking favorite beverages.
Also read: How Clorox Adapts to Consumer Trend Shifts With Advanced Analytics
"Using EEG, we got a glimpse into what the brain is doing while a participant took part in different activities, from wiping up coffee rings on the kitchen counter to relaxing in a massage chair. From there, we measured the differences in activation between the two sides of the brain, which gives us an indication of how much an individual enjoyed an activity," said Emotiv senior research scientist Dr. Nik Williams in a statement.
The results:
- 37% of participants felt better cleaning the toilet than they did petting puppies
- 43% of participants showed cleaning the toilet felt better than listening to their favorite song
- Wiping the kitchen counter felt 6% better than getting a massage
- Wiping kitchen counters and scrubbing a sink produced a similar response to activities like watching a funny video or getting a manicure
- Wiping a counter had a 6.1% higher feel-good response compared to getting a massage
While Clorox is a proponent that clean feels good, even Tad Kittredge, vice president of marketing and innovation at the company, said it's surprising to hear that for some it feels as good as petting puppies. "Now that was unexpected," he said in a statement.
