The cold and flu market is fiercely competitive. J&J needed a new angle of attack.

Our research uncovered a real gem: a surprising number of people complain about having a head cold but, incredibly, it’s not widely understood, the medical profession don’t officially recognise it and, even better, no one has a product that deals with it – until now.

As experts in colds of the head, Sudafed decided to come to the rescue of head cold sufferers and create a new product: Sudafed Congestion and Headache Relief.

We needed a figurehead  to tell the world about it – someone who sufferers could empathise with. And so Fred was born, our plasticine character who captured the heavy-headed, blocked-up symptoms of a headcold and, at the same time, generated maximum sympathy.

The campaign began on TV but Fred soon popped up in rich digital media in a two-phase approach – an awareness phase and an educational phase, designed to strengthen Sudafed’s credentials as head experts.

Fred also made appearances in digital posters in proximity to chemists and in that breeding ground for germs, the London Underground, on tube cards.

 He was also there to greet you on his own FSDU in retail and, of course, on the Sudafed website.

Acting as lead campaign and lead agency, the ‘plasticine world’ creative treatment has now been adopted in several markets around the globe across the Sudafed range.

Creative Team:

Josh Haines & Paul Waddup