Advil turns heads with robust multi-format campaign

Brief:

Advil wanted to drive a lift in brand perception and product interest for their classic pain medication and the caffeine-enhanced Advil Lift with their target audience of 18- to 35-year-olds.

Solution:

Advil is synonymous with pain relief to people all over the world (in other words, brand awareness is pretty high) so their marketing aims to ensure Advil remains a household name as younger consumers come of age. That’s why they teamed up with Spotify — not only to reach Gen Z and millennial streamers in real-time daily moments, but also to literally drive them to a free concert (produced by Advil and Uber) where those fans could see firsthand that Advil “is a brand that doesn’t let pain stop me.”

Since Advil’s target audience aligns perfectly with Spotify’s audience, they cued up a wide-ranging campaign in Mexico: Video Takeover and Sponsored Sessions aimed at the entire age group; a unique Homepage Takeover that updated throughout the day, and an Audio Everywhere effort that used Spotify’s streaming intelligence to reach listeners in specific moments — like working out, partying, studying, or focusing — when pain or fatigue can get in the way.

Advil emphasized these daily moments with custom audio ads that used playful images to match the listeners’ context. Based on whether the listener was partying, working out, or studying, they saw a cartoon duo that was either dancing, exercising, or hitting the books. And if any of them happened to have an ache, they could click through to a purchase page connecting them to local drug stores. Even Advil boxes at stores were affixed with a scannable sticker that gave streamers access to music on the company’s branded Spotify profile.

But it gets even more — ahem — outside the box. On the day of the brand’s September Advil Play concert, the brand used a national Homepage Takeover that changed throughout the day. In the morning, they teased the secret gig. A couple hours before the show, a new ad revealed the performers (Colombian star Sebastián Yatra and Bogotá-based band Morat) and urged fans to open Uber at 5 p.m. If they did, they were offered a ride to the show. Once it began, Advil ran a third HPTO display directing at-home listeners to the party’s official playlist.

Advil closed out their four-month campaign with a different HPTO promoting one of Mexico’s biggest festivals, Corona Capital (which they sponsor) — re-emphasizing their clear commitment to being there when music-lovers are soundtracking their lives at home, in the gym, at the office, in school, at the party, in the club, or at the festival. Thanks to this robust campaign, Advil boosted brand metrics across the board, including a 160% lift in Ad Recall — that’s a pretty steep hike. In fact, we might need to pop an Advil now.

Impact:

• Due in no small part to its creativity, Advil’s campaign saw a 160% increase in ad recall compared to control.
• Thanks to unique ads that drove home an association with key moments, Advil saw a 19% increase in agreement that Advil "is a brand that does not let pain stop me.”
• After a strategic multi-format approach, 70% of users exposed to the campaign said they have more interest in Advil, which is 3.6X the industry benchmark.