It must be so easy to fall into the clinical format for OTC pharmaceuticals. So many brands do. McCann London has taken heartburn and indigestion tablet brand, Rennie, into a very different advertising world, giving new life to a 95-year-old brand with human humour and dogs that talk. The full campaign was created by McCann London and Initiative Media, part of Omnicom’s dedicated Bayer unit, BOND.

The campaign, Stop the Blame Game, springs from the human habit of blaming the dog when people fart. It features three interviews in which dogs with perfectly human personalities and hugely entertaining wit, tell their stories about being wrongly accused. The dogs are given their voices by Bill Bailey, Pete Wicks, Susie Dent, and Annette Badland. The campaign is tied together with “news report” covering a dog protest. The full campaign began in cinema, and is running across TV, digital and social.

Credits:
Client: Bayer [Rennie]
EMEA Category Head – Digestive Health: Alexandra Burger
Regional Category Lead UK & EMEA – Digestive Health: Rebecca Huda
Senior Brand Manager: Stephanie Watson
Assistant Brand Manager: Millie Foreman
Head of Medical Affairs, Europe North: Oriana Pich
Senior Medical Affairs Advisor: Oliver Matthers

Creative Agency: McCann London
Creative Director: Jon Elsom
Creatives: Tom Smith, & Darren Urquhart
Client Partner: Rebecca Harrison
Global Creative Strategy Partner: Richard Kelly
Account Manager: Amie Meadowcroft
Senior Account Directors: Julia Shuker & Katie Ferris
Operations Director: Trevor Davis

Production: Omnicom Production
Director of Production: James Faupal
Implementation Manager: Neil Checketts
Junior Producer: Ellery Wooff
Senior Producer: Chloe Brown
Business Affairs: Amarlyllis Hind

Media: Initiative