BAYER’S RENNIE® WIND RELIEF PRO CALLS TIME ON BRITAIN’S OLDEST FART COVER-UP WITH ‘STOP THE BLAME GAME’

New creative gives a voice to wrongly accused dogs featuring Pete Wicks, Susie Dent, Bill Bailey and Annette Badlan.

Rennie®, the UK’s No.1 best-selling heartburn and indigestion tablet brand, has partnered with McCann London and Initiative Media, both part of BOND, Omnicom’s dedicated Bayer unit, to launch a new integrated campaign for Rennie Wind Relief Pro. The campaign introduces Rennie®’s first dedicated trapped wind product and cements the brand as a credible player in the wind relief category.

Built around the insight that dogs have been unfairly taking the blame for human flatulence for generations, the campaign called “Stop the Blame Game” uses Rennie®’s style of droll British humour to call for justice for the nation’s canines.

The campaign centres around the truth that dogs have taken the blame for human digestive indiscretions for long enough. Through documentary-style interviews, a staged protest and social content, Rennie® shines a light on the wrongly accused dogs while positioning Rennie® Wind Relief Pro as the solution.

The activity kicks off in cinema, and spans TV, digital and social with a short content series. The work enlisted a cast of well-known voices including Bill Bailey, Pete Wicks, Susie Dent, and Annette Badland, with each helping tell the stories of dogs who have unfairly shouldered the blame for their owners’ indiscretions.

The campaign broadens the Rennie® brand within digestive health, driving consideration among adults seeking effective relief from trapped wind, bloating and abdominal cramping symptoms.

Rebecca Huda, regional category lead UK & EMEA digestive health, said: “Rennie® has helped people manage digestive discomfort for over 90 years, but with Rennie® Wind Relief Pro we saw an opportunity to introduce our wind relief offering in a way that would genuinely capture attention. 

“We loved the simplicity and humour of ‘Stop the Blame Game’ because it shines a light on a familiar experience that so many people recognise. Humour has the power to make everyday health conversations more accessible.”

James Millers, executive creative director at McCann London said: “This work is built on a lovely lateral insight which allows us to reframe the conversation around a sensitive subject in a fresh and playful way. Owners using dogs as the fall guy for their wind problems? Never acceptable. Us using dogs as the fall guy to deliver that message? That’s the kind of meta I can get behind.”

Jon Elsom, executive creative director, global brands at McCann London, added: “The winds of change were blowing at Rennie® and this new product deserved a cut-through campaign. The ignominy of our nation’s dogs needed to end. This work will end the howling injustice of the blame game.”

The campaign launches this week and will run across multiple channels for 3 months.

Source: McCann London

  Advertising, Campaign, Marketing, McCann, McCann London, Omnicom, Rennie