Over-the-counter cough-and-cold medicine advertising has travelled down a well-worn road – until now. Robitussin has said goodbye to the clichés and hello, to Robby Tussin, the cough hitman, who shows up wherever a cough has become “unacceptable” and takes it out – quickly, cleanly, and quietly – with a bottle of Robitussin. Like all hitmen, Robby has spent years perfecting a very specific line of work – he handles coughs. He’s quick, clean, and doesn’t make a scene – he gets in, ends the cough, and gets out. When a cough becomes “unacceptable,” you call a pro.  

The campaign’s deadpan, hitman-movie tropes (trench coat, hidden interior jacket pocket, a knowing look in the mirror) dramatise just how fast and decisive Robitussin’s relief is.

The idea, with its social-first content, creator partnerships, and a character that entertains, is by specialist Publicis Groupe team, Publicis LeOne, and Take Care of Your Cough is the first work for Robitussin and the brand’s first campaign since Haleon consolidated its global creative business in October 2025. Publicis Groupe now leads Haleon’s OTC portfolio, including Robitussin’s masterbrand business.

The platform succeeds the brand’s, Find Your Voice, campaign and is designed to carry Robitussin’s full product range.

At the core of the campaign is the cultural tension that we live in a world built for instant resolution – same-day shipping, skip-intro buttons, PreCheck lines – yet a cough is the one thing we still tolerate lingering. Robitussin is positioning itself against “the unacceptable cough” – the one that shows up early, hangs on late, and refuses to get out of the way. Robby Tussin exists to end it, fast.

The full US campaign covers national TV & streaming, OLV, paid and organic social, and influencer, with a retail and e-commerce extension planned to follow. Take Care of Your Cough will run through the 2026/2027 cold, cough, and flu (CCF) season.

In the influencer part of the campaign is The Call. Rather than recreating the TV spots, influencers (couples-comedy, ensemble/friend-group, and humor creators) dramatise the relatable tipping point when a cough becomes “unacceptable” and it’s time to call Robby Tussin. Additional influnecer concepts, The Family Meeting and Dramatic Documentary, play up the “unacceptable cough” moment, when one person’s cough becomes everyone’s problem.

Karen Bouhadana, senior director, respiratory at Haleon, commented, “We’re evolving how Robitussin shows up by moving into more modern, culturally relevant creative territories designed to earn attention—not just buy it. Robby Tussin brings humor and a distinctive point of view to the familiar frustration of a lingering cough, while keeping our product superiority at the center: fast, powerful relief people can count on.”

Pete Johnson, executive creative director part of Publicis LeONE, added, “A lingering cough is annoying. Advertising about a lingering cough shouldn’t be. So we created Robby Tussin, a wildly overqualified man with a pretty simple job: get rid of the cough so you can get on with your life. He’s ridiculous, Robitussin is ridiculously effective, and somewhere in between, we found a character we think people will actually want to see again.”

Credits:

Client: Haleon (Robitussin)
General Manager, OTC: Jason Milligan
Senior Brand Director , Respiratory: Karen Bouhadana
Senior Brand Manager, Robitussin: Alex Thomas
Brand Manager, Robitussin: Alexandra Godwin

Creative Agency: Publicis LeONE, a bespoke Publicis Groupe unit
Executive Creative Director: Pete Johnson
Group Creative Directors: Danny Price, Jacopo Biorcio
Creative Directors: Lane Hedler, Chris Wernikowski
Account Leads: Thomas Cashin, Lili Naim
Strategy Lead: Sara Knee
Producer: Loren Shteyman
Production Planner: Katie DeLaski

Production Company: Academy Films
Director: Francois Lallier
Executive Producer: John Nguyen
Editing: Cosmo Street
Editor: Lawrence Young

VFC, Colour Grading, Sound Design & Mixing, Flame Conform: Harbor Picture Company
2D Lead: Paul Rosckes
Colourist: Oisin O’Driscoll
Sound Designer & Mixer: Walter Bianco
Associate Sound Mixers: Andrew Wodzanowski, Catherine Sangiovanni, Chris Perepezko, Alex Lavetter

Music: Hyper Ballad
Casting (Robby role): AHC Casting
Casting (all other roles): Mann Casting