Who Gives a Crap? The Jenga of Reputation

Award winning permission to poo campaign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv0W37Red9o

Week 6 argues that reputation is built long before a crisis arrives, Andrex provides a current. Andrex, owned by Kimberly-Clark, recently gained favourable publicity through its Permission to Poo campaign, which won both the Everyday Brand category and the overall Grand Prix at the Guardian Advertising Awards 2026. Unlike self-promotional advertising, the recognition came from an independent judging panel, giving the campaign greater credibility through third-party endorsement rather than the brand praising itself (Guardian Media Group, 2026).

The campaign addressed children avoiding school toilets because of embarrassment. Andrex-commissioned research found that around three-quarters of UK schoolchildren felt uncomfortable using school toilets, encouraging conversations between children, parents and schools about health, confidence and wellbeing (Newsworks, 2025).

But this created a debate like a little angel and a little demon on either shoulder.

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The Angel carefully places the first block…

“Children avoiding school toilets is a genuine health and wellbeing issue. Andrex has used its platform to tackle an uncomfortable conversation that affects families, schools and children’s confidence. That is exactly what Week 6 describes: building goodwill with multiple stakeholders before a crisis ever happens (King’s College London, 2026).”

This is the social responsibility pillar of corporate reputation, where organisations are evaluated on whether their actions create value beyond commercial objectives (Fombrun, Gardberg and Sever, 2000). The campaign also shows stakeholder marketing, extending its influence beyond customers to parents, schools, healthcare professionals and the wider community (Kotler and Keller, 2022).

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The Devil slides out a block…

“Or perhaps Andrex simply found the most sophisticated toilet paper advert ever made. Solve a social problem, win awards, generate positive headlines and suddenly nobody notices you’re still selling toilet paper.”

From a marketing perspective, the campaign combines cause-related marketing, strong brand-cause fit and extensive earned media, allowing Andrex to differentiate itself in a mature product category where functional differences are limited (Kotler and Keller, 2022).

“Then look at competitor Who Gives A Crap. It has built much of its reputation around sustainability, yet every toilet roll is individually wrapped in paper. The company explains that the wrappers are recyclable and account for only around 1% of its total paper and cardboard use (Who Gives A Crap, 2026). Even so, every additional wrapper is still another layer of material. If sustainability is the promise, shouldn’t every layer justify its existence?” Like wise taking advantage of a good cause for their benefit.

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The Angel steadies the tower… “That doesn’t automatically make it greenwashing. Who Gives A Crap manufactures recycled and bamboo toilet paper, donates 50% of its profits to improve access to clean water and sanitation (Who Gives A Crap, 2026). Perfect sustainability rarely exists. The question isn’t whether a company benefits from doing good. The question is whether society benefits as well.”

This reflects shared value, where organisations create economic value while simultaneously creating value for society rather than treating the two as competing objectives (Porter and Kramer, 2011).

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The Devil reaches for another block…

“Exactly. That’s the point. Reputation isn’t built by saying you’re responsible. It’s built when stakeholders stop asking awkward questions. Until then, every campaign, every wrapper and every decision becomes another block people can either trust… or pull.”

Week 6 distinguishes publicity from reputation. Publicity can be generated quickly through a successful campaign, whereas reputation reflects stakeholders’ accumulated judgements formed through repeated organisational behaviour over time (Fombrun, Gardberg and Sever, 2000; King’s College London, 2026).

My view

I think the angel and devil are both holding part of the truth.

Andrex has clearly gained favourable publicity for its social responsibility pillar through independent recognition and extensive earned media. At the same time, the devil reminds us that awards recognise campaigns, not reputations. Reputation is earned when organisations consistently deliver on the values they communicate.

Perhaps that is Week 6’s biggest lesson?

A campaign might win an award buuut only years of consistent behaviour earn a reputation. That’s the difference between favourable publicity and a pillar strong enough to remain standing when stakeholders start pulling blocks away (King’s College London, 2026).

What do you think?