A campaign on the apparently endangered barf bag proved how creative and brilliant advertising can be, and it’s why FCB Chicago was named Healthcare Marketing Impact Agency of the Year 2024.
The IPG agency cleverly zeroed in on the fact that the plastic vomit baggies provided commonly by trains and planes were disappearing and used it to promote client Dramamine, the medicine for motion sickness. FCB Chicago found that these bags were going increasingly unused, and therefore unprovided, and made a direct correlation to Dramamine.
“The Last Barf Bag: A Tribute to a Cultural Icon” explored “every corner of the barf bag universe,” as FCB Chicago wrote in its submission. This included a documentary on barf bag collectors in America (you read that right: people who collect barf bags) that premiered at a first-ever barf bag museum in New York. The agency said the pop-up museum attracted more than 200 visitors including influencers, and the film’s premier drew crowds of people who lined up to admire globally-curated bags and meet one of the collectors from the documentary.
The campaign also imagined a future without barf bags, in a world where Dramamine has eliminated vomiting, with an online store that sold repurposed barf bags. The limited-edition repurposed barf bags sold out in weeks, according to the agency.
FCB Chicago promoted the campaign via social media, out-of-home and print. “Every touchpoint was designed to entertain consumers while reminding them how effective Dramamine is when nausea strikes,” the agency wrote in its submission.
The campaign was not only expansive and imaginative, but effective. It earned more than 2 billion impressions. Dramamine sales on Amazon spiked 26% post-launch of the campaign, versus a year prior. The documentary is now competing in the film festival circuit, and FCB Chicago said airlines have inquired about including it in their in-flight entertainment offerings.
