Everyone knows that sore throats are painful. Ads have been reminding us for years. Zulu Alpha Kilo figured that there was an opportunity for Betadine to stand out by making a simple change on its ad message. Not talking about pain.

“We took the opportunity to do something really different and original with this launch,” explained Zak Mroueh, chief creative officer and founder at Zulu Alpha Kilo.

“When we looked at the competition, we saw that so many sore throat/cold/flu brands were all saying the same things in their communication. We knew these situations would be unexpected and completely unconventional for the category.”

The new campaign includes 30-second TVCs and 15-second online films, a new website and social content.

https://youtu.be/i-fm1Dmjvao

“Research has shown that 85% of sore throats are viral and are early signs of infections like cold and flu. There are many options on the market that treat the symptoms that come with being sick, but few that actually treat the root cause of the issue,” noted Sheryl Willison – country lead, Avrio Health Canada.

“We’re incredibly excited about the direction we’ve taken with our brand. We wanted to be disruptive and breakthrough in a very competitive category, which led to us partnering with Zulu.”

https://youtu.be/9g786x_8H8c

The campaign will run through December.

https://youtu.be/GVcGJHrzk_k

Credits:

Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo

Chief Creative Officer: Zak Mroueh

Executive Creative Director: Patrick Scissons

Art Directors: Kevin Sato & Gail Pak
Copywriters: Vinay Parmar & Irfan Khan
Agency Producer: Jac Benoit
Account Team: David Tremblay

Strategic Planners: Heather Segal & Michael Szego

Production Company: Soft Citizen
Director: The Perlorian Brothers

Producer: Marrie Wasson

Director of Photography: Kris Belchevski

Video Post & Editing Company: Zulubot
Editor: Max Lawlor

Compositor & Online: Darren Achim
Animation: Ed Deng
Colour & Transfer: Wade Odlum
Audio Post & Music House: Pirate Toronto
Audio Director: Tom Eymundson

Producer: Joanne Uyeyama

Client: Purdue Pharma

Client team: Sheryl Willison, Ryan Brown & Rhea Rousseau