Help Remedies, maker of products like Help I have a headache (painkiller medicine) and Help I've cut myself (adhesive bandages), knows a thing or two about creating an unsettling mood. Its "Take less" campaign featured a pair of giant lips attached to a man's stomach attempting to eat an enormous pill. And its ads for Help I can't sleep (anti-insomnia medicine) were creepy enough to earn the top spot on AdFreak's 30 Freakiest Ads of 2011 list. And ironically, they'll probably keep you awake at night.
The company recently launched a new product, Help I've cut myself & I want to save a life, which includes a bone marrow donor registration kit along with the usual bandages. (If you've got blood dripping from your finger, why let it go to waste?) The advertising campaign—from Droga5 creative Graham Douglas (who came up with the product idea), along with Help co-founder Nathan Frank, freelance creative Paul Caiozzo and Lifelong Friendship Society director Jason Jones—doesn't disappoint.
Titled "Thank You Sharp Objects," the spot encourages appreciation for the sharp objects that cause accidental cuts, thereby allowing you to use Help's kit to register to become a donor. While it's not news that cats are inherently evil and will attempt to harm you, did you know your cheese grater is actually a demonic creature that wants to slice your fingers? (You'll never shred Gruyere again!) Or that a cactus could potentially fall from the sky and pierce your arm? Or that your bread knife is actually a man-slash-narrator (played by Douglas) dressed as a bloody blade, who sounds vaguely stoned and is also king of all sharp things? So, yeah, this spot is weird as anything, but hopefully it'll inspire a few individuals to place their own "bloody swabs" in an envelope and send them off to save a life.
Finally, let me suggest a new product for the brand to consider: Help I just watched a Help Remedies commercial. Includes Xanax and a soft blanket.
CREDITS:
Client: Help Remedies
Creative: Graham Douglas, Droga5
Creative: Paul Caiozzo
Production Company: Lifelong Friendship Society
Creative: Nathan Frank
Director: Jason Jones
Director of Photography: Adam Lukens
Executive Producers: Dan Sormani, Kim Koby
First Assistant Director: T.J. Ryan
Editor: Dan Maloney
Postproduction: Lifelong Friendship Society
Music/Sound Design: Jafbox
Music/Sound Design: Joseph Fraioli
Sound: Sonic Union
Mixer: Michael Marinelli
Color: Smoke & Mirrors
Colorist: Stuart Wheeler