People don’t talk like to talk about poo. It’s an awkward subject. But the future of IBS probiotic brand, Symprove, depends on spreading the word about healthy poo and Lucky Generals was given the job of working out how to do that.
So the agency took British presenter, Lisa Snowdon, hits the quaint hamlet of Shitterton, Dorset, to ask the public to flush out opinions on poo from awkward Brits.
13+ million people in the UK suffer from stomach and bowel issues, with more than half (54%) saying they feel too embarrassed to talk to family and friends about it. One in five even say they are too shy to disclose the problem to their GP. Symprove is aiming to reach people who have concerns about their gut health, and to inform IBS sufferers who feel wiped out that they are not alone and there are options out there.
Lisa Snowdon is a genuine Symprove user and doesn’t suffer from shame when it comes to bearing all. In the 60-second video Lisa blows away the public by asking all things gut related, from “Do you know what shape your poo is?” to “How many times a day do you poo?”. It’s clearly quite a private topic, as people dash into cars and the nearest shop to evade Lisa’s line of questioning. But as Lisa bounds through town, the public begins to open up about why they don’t talk about their toilet habits and that we shouldn’t really feel ashamed to talk about such a natural habit. The work brings some light relief to a subject that is normally discussed behind a closed (toilet) door.
The campaign film is being supported by Lisa Snowdon in social media to drive awareness to the campaign.
Paul Mallon, head of special ops at Lucky Generals, commented, “Turns out that asking someone if they have had a poo is not an everyday question, even down south. So this was a Special Ops mission that added a little mischief to proceedings, and the final product showed that a tricky topic can be broached with some laughter. Lisa brought her infectious humour with those probing questions, and thankfully the good people of Shitterton and surrounding areas had the guts to face the cameras.”
Carol McEvoy, comms manager at Symprove, added, “Symprove loves a challenge, and as a heavily regulated food supplement we have our fair few challenges. Lucky Generals ran with this brief in a bold and entertaining fashion. We know the nation as a whole is reluctant to talk about gut health, but at HQ we chat gut health and poop on a daily basis with no embarrassment and taking Lisa Snowdon to the streets to find out more about our nation’s reticence was an idea we couldn’t say no to.”
Sophie Miller, head of brand at Symprove, commented, “Symprove is a pioneer in gut health research and our water-based probiotic helps people living with gut health conditions, take back control. We’ve partnered with Lucky Generals to find a non-traditional and disruptive way to get the nation talking – the #ItTakesGuts campaign uses humour to shed light on a really serious issue. It was such a joy to make this campaign with Lucky Generals – we moved at speed, collaboratively and had a lot of fun while we did it – I spent a lot of the shoot cringing behind lamp posts but Lisa and the Lucky’s team were total pros.”
Credits:
Creative Agency: Lucky Generals
Client: Symprove
Production Company: Lucky Productions
Colourist & Sound Engineer: Simon Richardson
