Boots Healthcare International will make the first use of several
new animation techniques in the latest global campaign for Strepsils,
breaking next week.
The 30-second ad was created by McCann-Erickson in association with The
Animation Partnership, which developed several techniques to achieve the
effects.
The ad attempts to break away from the conventional treatment of medical
products using diagrams of the human body. Instead a wholly symbolic
scenario is introduced to communicate the pain of a sore throat, with
animated landscapes representing both the symptoms and the cure.
The spot opens on a harsh landscape of spikes, barbed wire and
metal.
A voiceover describes the soothing effects of taking Strepsils as the
sun rises, melting the metal into dewy, lush countryside. The ad ends
with: "Strepsils: first aid for sore throats" as the sun transforms into
Strepsils' circular red brand device.
In its use of painful images to trigger memories of sore throat
symptoms, the ad recalls the famous work produced by BMP DDB Needham for
Strepsils. Ads in the early and mid-90s transformed sticks of celery
into tree trunks and added vicious- looking spikes to apples.
McCann-Erickson picked up the £19 million Strepsils business from
BMP in 1997, when Boots Healthcare International consolidated its global
business into Interpublic.
The ad was developed at McCann-Erickson's London office. It was written
by Mike Lawrence and art directed by Andy McAdie. The director was David
Parvin. Media is through MindShare.
"It's always exciting when a client wants to break the mould,"
McCann-Erickson's deputy chief executive, Chris Hunton, said. "The
Strepsils brief not only pushed the category forward, but also allowed
us to experiment with new techniques that bring the sore throat syndrome
to life in a completely unexpected way."
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