Voltaren - the drama of pain - (2019) :50 (UK)

Every so often an ad comes along with an idea so simple and spot on it kind of stings a little. This is one of those ads, it makes me wish I had thought of it. Very simple idea, excellently executed. It grabs your attentioon, amuses, and reminds you why you'd use voltaren. Love it.

Melissa Masurel, strategy director at Saatchi & Saatchi explains the insight: 

No matter how severe your pain is, it will make you feel different, act different and sound different. And the sound of pain, unearthed by data and research, was a unique and interesting way in.

The sound of pain! With this uncovered, it seems to march us straight to this brilliant little advert. Jason Mendes, global creative lead at Saatchi & Saatchi London:

Pain has a voice. You usually groan quietly or scream out loud depending on the intensity or your threshold. And the drama that accompanies pain is pretty much universal – it’s powerful, emotional and melodramatic … a bit like an opera really. However, unlike opera, no one wants the drama of pain in their life.

True, very true. Tom Pinsent, Head of Strategy and Planning at Publicis Lausanne adds::

The issue is, most creative work in the pharma category is incredibly rational and not very engaging – heavily featuring science and 3D graphics of molecules working in muscles and joints. As such, it is often ignored because pain itself isn’t felt rationally.

So here we have scene after scene, depicting the Drama of Pain. A rather amusing little opera as seen in jacuzzi-tubs, yoga-classes, offices and even restaurants. It's the little things, like the guy flopping around in his robe in the tub and the woman collapsing in her couch that makes this ad so good.

Client: GSK
Ad agency: Saatchi & Saatchi , London & Publicis Lausanne