A Responsibility Dose approaches the problem of excessive over-the-counter painkiller consumption, connecting with consumers directly at different touch points, and promoting alternative pain-reduction solutions to avoid medication.

The campaign raised awareness in a very positive way, considering that it came from the very lab who sold the painkillers.

The pharmaceutic industry pushes for overblown sales of painkillers, making up all kinds of reasons to justify their consumption.

After much social listening, we found consumers simply believed them, without considering any risks.

In Argentina alone, 60 people die every day, and more than 100,000 are hospitalized every year.

There was one thing left to do: be honest.

The big challenge was to advertise for a painkiller without partaking in the merciless schemes the industry resorts to, which harm consumers rather than curing them.

We put together a responsible campaign, considering people’s health before sales – and it worked out great.

We decided to do what no lab has done before; we told people not to consume our product.

A Responsibility Dose is a crosscutting campaign that discourages people from taking painkillers and self-medicating, offering natural solutions to alleviate physical discomfort that people traditionally take painkillers for.

Every outlet transmitted a targeted message.

A hero video started the conversation of self-medication, focusing on the body’s ability to heal itself.

The Anti Self-Medication Pack offered alternative solutions to alleviate the most common discomfort before deciding to take a pill.

We relied on a search algorithm to indicate which symptoms people Googled the most, and we responded to them with messages that strongly discouraged self-medication, while offering to set up an online appointment with a health professional.

We were able to reach consumers at each point of contact with a simple message: there are many healthier options you can choose before painkillers.

People are harmfully self-medicating all around the world. The pharmaceutical industry has a huge responsibility given the messages they’ve put out. In Argentina alone, 50% of the people self-medicate, which in turn leads to more than 60 deaths per day.

Fabogesic Ibuprofen’s strategy was powerful: to communicate with responsibility and encourage people not to consume our painkiller for minor discomforts.

The campaign’s goal was to raise awareness on self-medication. We also tried to change people’s minds about pain: it can indicate we’ve made an effort and that can be a good thing. That’s why we invited people to choose among several alternatives to painkillers (e.g. ice, resting, stretching, etc.) at every touchpoint.

A Responsibility Dose is a comprehensive campaign that discourages self-medicating at every point of direct communications.

Hero content explains that pain is simply part of life, and a healthy body doesn’t need painkillers to overcome it.

A mixed-media approach amplified the message at the right time.

When it came to Search, we focused on the most-commonly Googled symptoms, and developed an algorithm capable of detecting them and replying with alternative solutions that could prevent self-medication.

We replicated this same idea on social media and banners. We redirected people to a landing page with tips and tutorials on how to alleviate the most common types of discomfort without having to resort to painkillers; you could even set up an online appointment with a health professional.

We redesigned our packaging to create the Anti Self-medication Pack, which offered different healthy solutions to deal with pain, prior to deciding to take a painkiller.

Although the campaign is in the initial stages, results look promising:

Landings on our tutorial website increased by 235%.

Google searches for “alternatives to painkillers” and related terms, increased by 36.8%.

Online checkups for the most common physical discomfort increased by 206% while the campaign was running.

With US$0 allocated to media support, the campaign had 94% positive comments on social media platforms.

The campaign’s success not only endorsed Fabogesic and their responsible message, sales also increased by 18.2% while the campaign was running. Although this would seem to contradict our goal, in fact it didn’t. Total painkiller purchases dropped by 2.9% during the same period indicating that consumers migrated from other brands to Fabogesic.

A Responsibility Dose was Fabogesic’s way to speak boldly and responsibly in the painkiller category – one that is known for the ruthless way it communicates for the sole purpose of increasing sales.