Opi's Tragic New Baby Brand Highlights the Plight of Opioid Addiction

Every 15 minutes a baby is born withdrawing from opioid dependency – primarily because their mothers have little-to-no access to treatment for their substance use disorder. As this crisis hits critical mass, the Urgent Love Initiative of Roanoke, VA has teamed up with ad agency, Grey New York, to help those very mothers and their soon-to-be newborns find treatment. 

Using insights from interviews conducted with Neonatal Intensive Care Unit professionals with experience at Carilion Clinic and other medical centers, Urgent Love created the first baby product line designed around the withdrawal symptoms faced by newborns affected by opioids. They dubbed their tragic new brand, Opi’s. 

Examples of the products include a morphine-injecting baby spoon and rattle with a heart monitor attached. Consumers can find the products via a digital ad campaign featuring mommy-bloggers, influencers, Instagram and Facebook ads.

With the help of Grey and Tool of North America, 3D models and prototypes were created to highlight key aspects of infant withdrawal. An online store and influencer-led ad campaign were then launched. The product concepts, which are not for sale, are meant to visually represent the impact of the opioid epidemic on families and directly raise money for Urgent Love. The non-profit program helps moms suffering from addiction find the support, education and treatment they need for a healthy future. 

“Most addicted mothers who need this treatment have no help available to them, or no money to pay for it,” said Nancy Hans, executive director of The Prevention Council, and co-founder of the Urgent Love Initiative. “By launching Opi’s, we hope to raise awareness, raise desperately needed funding to help mothers before they wind up in a situation where they’re having a child while addicted to opioids, and ensure their postpartum path forward remains drug-free.”