A humorous brand refresh for the first cough drop in America

Smith Brothers were looking to console sad, feeble, coughing Americans. But, just like switchboard operators, chimney sweeps, clock winders and my dad, Smith Brothers Cough Drops were lost in time.

America’s first cough drop needed help increasing brand awareness in retail stores. They also needed to loudly position their products in a crowded shelf space and breathe new flavor into a historic brand.

How do you please retailers and your director of sales?

Our campaign focused on driving foot traffic to Rite Aids and specifically targeted the Rite Aid corporate office to show buyers we were serious about being silly.

• We elevated Smith Brothers across all social media platforms. By that we mean: 2,525,073 total impressions and increased reach and engagement over a six-month period.
• By utilizing geofencing, OTT/CTV ads and display ads, we provided 3,250,935 total impressions of some kick-ass ads and drove 9,174 in-store foot traffic actions over six months.
• We also made people laugh. And that’s something the cough drop industry hasn’t done in a long time!

Gotta punch it up!

Building off of the history of the brand and the aesthetic of the packaging, we needed to remain consistent yet really give some life to these old bearded dudes.

The strength of the Smith Brothers brand has always been wit, history, crude humor, and a bold approach to messaging. In addition to the ads, we created a “newspaper” website where customers could literally hear the voices of Trade and Mark. Warning…may not be suitable for children.