Ever find yourself at a cocktail party stuck with someone who won’t stop talking about himself? As a (mostly digital) creative director, I’m often amazed by how some brands focus so much on selling that they forget to help their targets do more than buy.
Here are some health-focused brands that make for good conversation without babbling on and on about their gifted child.
Oh, and did I mention I work mostly in digital? Yup, at this party, the doors open at 72 dpi. Sorry print-cesses.
Let’s start with traditional plays and move outward.
• I am
Company: Actavis
Okay, okay, I know I’ve chosen a traditional pharma TV ad, and yes, it’s selling a product. But I like how the “I am” campaign focuses so authentically on the caregiver that we only see the patient through their eyes, not the brand’s. The miss of this campaign is its ho-hum website.
• Babies to Babes
Company: Reckitt Benckiser
Social media is obviously a challenge for highly regulated brands, but Durex shows how to stay engaged with its loyalists by leveraging a relevant event—World Singles’ Day—in a fun way. Singles who are tired of an endless stream of baby photos in their Facebook feeds can turn on a Chrome extension that replaces these infant photos with “babes” of the gender of their choice.
• VitaSprint
Company: Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH
Let’s face it, we all want to be in great shape, but this B12 vitamin brand cleverly steers away from P90x. The app has a wake-up alarm that syncs up with your local forecast, waking you up early if it’s good running weather. It has a whimsical animated video, too.
• Visualize You App
Company: Visual Health Solutions
When it comes to weight loss, the hardest thing to overcome is one’s inability to visualize their future when the present is right in front of them … and offers them. This app helps users visualize themselves at the weight they’d like to be, offering inspiration. You can buy it for $1.99, but United Healthcare smartly sponsors a free version.
• Flamigel
Company: Flen Pharma
The first thing I love about this ad is that it’s an idea that could lower sales through fewer burns. (Somewhere a brand manager shivers.) But it’s simple, useful and fully brand aligned without shouting.
• Autism-friendly movies
Company: Filmstory Production
This is one of those ideas that a healthcare brand should have thought of but didn’t. Movies are, by design, surprising and stimulating, which can be stressful for people with autism. But these special theater screenings are designed to allow them to go to the movies on their own terms. Nice.
From the May 01, 2015 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
