FABLEfx and Sudocrem Are Here to Soothe Your Worries
Britain’s number one nappy cream, Sudocrem, is launching a new TV and digital campaign centred on the brand’s core essence, soothing.
Founded in 1931, Sudocrem has long been a staple in British households and the brand is looking to re-establish their long-held market leadership with a bold new campaign to reinforce the product’s unique property – the ability to sooth.
The new campaign creates a series of soothing moments in ad breaks and online. First airing during ITV1’s Britain’s Got Talent on Saturday 11 May, the first 'Soothing' TV ad is set in a tranquil Japanese garden, featuring three pandas gracefully practicing Tai Chi.
Director, Tim James Brown said: “This concept has many craft elements I like to work with, notably integrating live action with motion capture and CG. FABLEfx specialises solely in animal VFX, their prowess in this field meant they were the perfect collaboration when it came to creating pandas performing Tai-Chi, on stepping stones, in a soothing Japanese Garden with Mount Fuji in the distance."
VFX and animation supervisor, Janak Thakkar added: “Right from the start Tim put a lot of trust in us to create life-like Pandas. For a nice soothing spot like this, we had to make sure the Pandas looked plausible in terms of appearance and movement. Working closely with Tim and the agency creatives was an enjoyable experience, we all took great pride in making these guys flow smoothly through the narrative. It was hard to get stressed working on this project as to how relaxing the spot is!"
Running from the 11th of May to the 10th of August on ITV, C4, C5, SAT, Finecast National TV, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, the TV ad has two different endings – one featuring a mother changing a baby’s nappy, the other showing a young girl who’s fallen off her bike, with her dad ‘soothing’ her graze with Sudocrem. Both feature the tagline ‘soothing families since 1931’. The campaign has a £3m investment behind it.
This is Sudocrem’s first new campaign in three years, their first work since appointing McCann Health London as their lead agency in 2017. The ads were created by McCann Health London, and brought to life by award-winning director, Tim James Brown. The Tai Chi pandas and SFX were created by Fable Fx, Stockholm, with voiceover from Kathy Burke.
Adrian Parr, McCann Health’s European creative director, said: “TV and social media can be hectic places. Our campaign aims to create an oasis of calm and soothing, to highlight the qualities of Sudocrem. After all, it wasn’t originally called ‘Soothing Cream’ for nothing.”
Creative director Guy Swimer, added: “Sudocrem is an iconic brand with a rich history, and it’s been a pleasure to bring these ads to life. We hope audiences will find the ads as soothing as the product is.”
Nick Lang, Sudocrem UK head of marketing comments, “Soothing has always been at the heart of the Sudocrem brand, but we’ve searched for the right way to tell that story. McCann Health were clear about the power of a simple, memorable idea, based around the product’s heritage, and have worked tirelessly to bring it to life. Between Tim James Brown’s direction, and McCann Health’s creative vision, we believe the ‘Soothing Families’ campaign will be popular and enjoyed by consumers.”
