Twelve years ago, Walgreen Co. took a risk and introduced humor to the pharmacy category and has been using similar advertising spots that focus on “the pharmacy America trusts” ever since.
On Wednesday, though, the retailer will show shareholders a brand new campaign highlighting its pharmacy that again relies on humor, but is much more pointed in its attempt to differentiate itself in an industry that has changed drastically in the past decade.
The re-emphasis on the pharmacy, which represents more than 60 percent of Walgreens’ business, comes as players from Wal-Mart, Target Corp. and CVS attempt to eat away at Walgreens’ hold on the chain’s business.
The new push from Chicago-based Euro RSCG Tatham Partners comes after the $29 billion chain spent much of the past year focusing on the front of the store and a new corporate branding campaign.
“We took a breather,” said Craig Sinclair, Walgreens’ vice president of advertising.
Using a more light-hearted tone, the new campaign tells consumers that no one comes close to offering the services Walgreens’ does.
Three commercials will be shown to shareholders at the company’s annual meeting Wednesday.
In one spot featuring its Express Pay service, where customers only have to give their name, an announcer says: “If only all businesses were like Walgreens’ pharmacy, then they’d have Express too.”
An overweight jogger then runs by a donut shop, says his name, and is immediately rewarded with a donut. He later chases after an ice cream truck to shout his name.
While the campaign keeps “the pharmacy America trusts” line, it introduces a new mnemonic device that features a montage of its pharmacy services that ends with “Walgreens. Why go anywhere else?”
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“The humor thing was pretty risky at the beginning,” said Sinclair. “But people said that they didn’t want to see more images of the pharmacist with a white coat. “
The new campaign followed an audit from Walgreens on what competitors have been doing in the pharmacy category. Surprisingly, there has been a lull in advertising behind pharmacy.
But with Walgreens stepping it up, it’s a sure bet that it won’t be long before competitors follow with their own new campaigns.
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