PediaCare Happy Kids

I just love the new campaign for PediaCare. It is so simple and so to the point, without really having to make a product claim, which I think is brilliant.

Clearly these marketers get it. Product claims within any given category are generally all the same. All the products tend to perform at parity to one another, and there really isn't much to differentiate from a rational benefit standpoint. Particularly in OTC medicines where the active ingredients are all controlled by FDA monographs.

So ... good marketers are left to differentiate on the emotional side. Each brand in a category can do its own thing when it comes to appealing to consumers emotionally. This is where brands can set themselves apart and break through the clutter. This is where the men separate from the boys, as they say.

The trouble is that so many brands just focus on the rational side, despite the fact that they can't really say much that's differentiating. They focus on how to tweak the claims to be noticed, but it still ends up being category noise to the consumer. It doesn't break through.

PediaCare went the other way. The focus is on the kid, with very little product claims. Just an incredibly simple portrayal of a really happy, healthy kid - shot almost in home video style.

One spot has a toddler sitting in a high chair laughing uncontrollably. The other shows a "dancing queen" little girl dancing and dancing. As a parent, who doesn't want to see their child so deliriously happy. Happiness that only comes from feeling a whole lot better - the message couldn't be more clear!

Great work, PediaCare. You got me at the first giggle and beat.

What's your experience? Jim.