Kate McKinnon embodies Susan Toothbrush in the new Philips Sonicare campaign

Actress and comedian Kate McKinnon – and her bright white smile – is Philips Sonicare's latest brand ambassador in a humorous new brand campaign.

In a campaign video titled “Sonicare Switch,” McKinnon plays the mythical Susan Toothbrush, who “goes through walls to help people make better decisions about their oral health,” according to the character herself. In the spot, she appears in the bathroom of a man preparing for a job interview and criticizes his poor choice of toothbrush – or, as she calls it, his “old bristle pen”.

According to Matina Vidalis, senior marketing director for consumer and professional oral health care in North America at Philips, McKinnon pitched the idea for the Susan toothbrush character to creatives.

“We immediately loved the idea and worked closely with Kate to develop her character,” she told Campaign US via email. “Kate is the perfect partner for us – we all know and love her for her unrivaled comedic talent. We knew we could trust her to bring charisma to this campaign and re-energize our brand.”

The brand will share campaign content via email delivery; social media; in retail stores; linear television; and programmatic video on YouTube, Prime Video, Meta, TikTok and Snap.

McKinnon also debuted a 15-second clip of the ad and explained her Susan Toothbrush character during her interview on Monday The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

The brand's creative partner for the campaign was FleishmanHillard. Philips also worked with Lord Danger for production, The Den + The Loom for post-production and Marina Maher Communications for public relations and talent.