Radio star Fitzy appears in Panadol's first ever big brand campaign

Lindsay Bennett
By Lindsay Bennett | 1 November 2017
 

Panadol has launched its first ever core brand campaign in its 60-year history to remind Australians to take time away from their devices and reconnect with friends and families. 

No brightly coloured boxes of pills appear in the content and instead, the GlaxoSmithKline-owned entity focuses on its wider brand message, as opposed to the actual product.

It is the first time Panadol has approached its advertising with its 'brand purpose' in mind, broadening the conversation from ‘pain relief now’ to ‘switching off life headaches’.

The campaign, created by WhiteGrey, stars radio presenter Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and offers Australians a chance to win a free stay at the 'Home of Reconnection'.

In the 90-second film, Fitzy and his family enter the Home of Reconnection, which is devoid of all technology and devices. It invites guests to lock away their devices, switch off life’s headaches that are often caused by technology overload and reconnect with family and friends.

The campaign has a strong PR focus, already appearing on Sunrise this morning, also spanning across social media and leveraging influencers - a departure away from its TV focus.

Panadol marketing manager Annalee Combis tells AdNews there is still a place for TV for the brand, but this campaign aims to create a dialogue with consumers.

"TV is more of a broadcast model for us and we want to create a conversation with our customers and talk about the issues impacting Australians, so we opted for a 360 approach.

"The campaign isn't about a change in strategy for us. It's about embracing our brand purpose and taking a stand for what we believe in.

"We really want to drive relevance with Australian consumers and tackling this 'always on' technology as a physical and emotional pain point is a highly relevant issue in society."

As part of the influencer strategy, Panadol has invited social media personalities into the Home of Reconnection, including Comedian Celeste Barber.

celeste barberCeleste Barber is known for her parodies of celebrity images

WhiteGrey national ECD Chad Mackenzie says his team were delighted Panadol had embraced its brand purpose and it heralds an "exciting way forward" for the brand.

“It’s a strong message and we are proud Panadol is at the forefront of encouraging Australians to switch off from technology and increasing their sense of wellbeing and health by spending more quality time with loved ones," he says.

This is some of the first work from newly formed WhiteGrey, following the merger of The White Agency and Grey in May this year.

In 2015 independent agency The Works was appointed to Panadol to manage digital strategy, creative, social and content as part of its appointment to the GSK agency roster on a project-by-project basis. AdNews understands The Works no longer work with Panadol.

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