NHS England Changes Pharmacy Signs to Raise Awareness of New Extended Offering

NHS England has today unveiled a new multichannel campaign ‘The place to go’, to raise awareness of a new extended offering from community pharmacies, which enables pharmacists to supply some prescription-only medicines when clinically appropriate. The push, which is part of the ongoing ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi.

In a major move for the NHS and pharmacies across England, the new offering enables pharmacists to supply some prescription-only medicines, to treat a range of common conditions like sinusitis, earache and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women, when clinically appropriate.

More than 90% of community chemists in England have already signed up to the scheme, which aims to make it easier for people to get the help they need and free up millions of GP appointments.

This new campaign aims to boost awareness of the service amongst adults aged 18 to 40 who are experiencing minor health conditions.

A light-hearted 30-second film, directed by Andrew Gaynord at MindsEye, shows various people up and down the country visiting their local pharmacy to get the help they need for different conditions. The signs outside each pharmacy have been changed to reflect the inner worlds of the ad’s protagonists, with names including “It Burns When I Pee Pharmacy” and “This Earache is Getting Worse Pharmacy”.

Set to a cover of the iconic song ‘Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)’, the spot celebrates the help community pharmacies can now provide.

The campaign is running across video-on-demand, out-of-home, social, programmatic display and search. Media planning is by Wavemaker and media buying is by OMD.

Phil Bastable, deputy director, head of marketing and social media team, NHS England, said, “People across England already value the support they receive from their local community pharmacy, and with so many living in close proximity to one, they are the perfect spot to offer convenient care for common conditions. With this new campaign, we want to let people know that they can now get some prescription medicines from their local pharmacy, without needing to see a GP – making it quicker and more convenient for them to get the help they need, and taking pressure off general practice services.” 

Guy Bradbury, creative partner, M&C Saatchi, added, “We’ve all been there. A condition has got worse and it can’t wait. This new extended offering provides a great solution, enabling people to get some prescription medications from their pharmacist.

“What better way to spread the word about the new service, than to take an iconic song, made famous by The Big Lebowski, and change pharmacy signs to describe some of the ailments pharmacists can help with? We’ve delivered a campaign that lands our message with clarity and charm.”