GSK and Saatchi & Saatchi use Voltaren to silence the drama of pain

GSK and Saatchi & Saatchi have launched a film as part of a new campaign for Voltaren’s pain relief gel, which uses a witty, tongue-in-cheek link between the sound of pain and the sound of Opera.

It’s a universal truth that people tend to ignore or accommodate everyday pain, hoping it will simply go away. But the reality is that pain has a greater effect on everyday life than people realize.

Melissa Masurel, strategy director at Saatchi & Saatchi:

No matter how severe your pain is, it will make you feel different, act different and sound different. And the sound of pain, unearthed by data and research, was a unique and interesting way in.

Experiencing pain is universal but the experience itself is individual: research shows 4 in 10 people say there are no words to describe their pain, while 9 in 10 attribute a sound to describe their pain.  

Jason Mendes, global creative lead at Saatchi & Saatchi London:

Pain has a voice. You usually groan quietly or scream out loud depending on the intensity or your threshold. And the drama that accompanies pain is pretty much universal – it’s powerful, emotional and melodramatic … a bit like an opera really. However, unlike opera, no one wants the drama of pain in their life.

Tom Pinsent, Head of Strategy and Planning at Publicis Lausanne goes on to say:

The issue is, most creative work in the pharma category is incredibly rational and not very engaging – heavily featuring science and 3D graphics of molecules working in muscles and joints.

As such, it is often ignored because pain itself isn’t felt rationally.

Pain relief is a distressed purchase – when you feel pain, you’ll do anything to get rid of it immediately. That means, the science sometimes goes out of the window. People just want something strong. At that point, it’s really important for the brand to be top-of-mind. And you do that through emotional communication and connection.

This creative work appeals to people, understanding the human emotion and drama surrounding pain. Designed to attract and engage people to the brand first emotionally and then, through the rest of the campaign, deliver other emotional and rational RTB’s on other mediums.

The film is part of a campaign for a tool kit for the global market. Each country will run different versions, with slightly different messages depending on local medical legals and language translations.

The campaign consists of; a long cinema and online version, 2 x 30” TVC’s, 2 x 15” YouTube skippable, 6” bumpers and Instagram stories. All different and specific to each of the mediums.

By showing the impact pain has on who we are, Voltaren will encourage people to stand up and take back control of their pain, helping them be their pain free, carefree selves again.

Pain doesn’t just impact the way the body feels, but how life is experienced: 73% of people only appreciate the impact of their pain after it’s gone, 88% of people say their life is impacted in one way or another when they’re in pain. On a day in pain, they feel more foolish, slow, cowardly, impatient, aggressive, selfish… and more likely to experience mood swings.

Body pain affects nearly 90% of us every year. Muscle pain and osteo-arthritis are endured daily by millions of people and there is no known cure. 40% of people only treat pain when it interferes with everyday life too much. And yet, consumers wait to treat:  Only 1 in 5 seek relief for their pain immediately and 43% of people only treat their pain when it becomes unbearable/intolerable

Saatchi & Saatchi is built on our belief, that Nothing is Impossible. This spirit is brought to bear on transformative work for our global clients including Procter & Gamble, HSBC, Expedia, GSK, Toyota, Lexus, Visa. Asics, T-Mobile, General Mills & Mondelez.  Saatchi & Saatchi network unites 114 offices in 67 countries and some 6,500 people. Saatchi & Saatchi is part of the Publicis Groupe.