Too Bitter to Swallow: How Duracell is Making Safety Stick

Duracell’s latest campaign, ‘Bitter Truths,’ delivers a crucial safety message, and does it with a playful punch impossible to ignore. Created by VML UK, the OOH and social campaign harnesses the power of whimsical childhood illustrations to communicate a PSA: lithium coin batteries can be a danger to children, but Duracell’s unique bitter coating helps prevent ingestion.

To bring this important truth to life, and make it noticeable for children and parents alike, VML UK turned to celebrated illustrators, as well as expert 3D animators, to craft a series of charming, yet subversive visuals. These posters and billboards juxtapose childhood innocence and colourful visuals to convey the reality of safety risks associated with lithium batteries.

Think storybook scenes with unexpected twists – an annoyed unicorn, a heartbroken squirrel, and a singing princess confronting life’s disappointments – all underscoring the message that some things really are too bitter to swallow. The copy is brilliant too: ‘Mummy loves your brother more than you’, ‘Your dog didn’t go to live on a farm’, are only a couple of the many iterations. Associate creative directors Miles Carter and Sophie Knox reveal that one crucial question stood at the heart of the humorous text: ‘Would someone’s drunk grandmother blurt these out?’.

With equal measure clever copywriting, a stand-out visual approach, and a keen understanding of what resonates with parents, VML and Duracell delivered a campaign that is both fresh, and impactful.

Miles and Sophie took LBB’s Zoe Antonov behind the scenes to speak about the making of and meaning behind this campaign.

LBB> What was the creative insight that led to the concept of using whimsical childhood illustrations to convey such a serious message?

Miles and Sophie> We actually started with the bitter headlines and the idea that ‘some things are too bitter for kids to swallow.’ But they clearly needed a disarming visual style to soften them and to engage parents of young kids. Children’s storybooks, with all their sweet and innocent charm, felt like the perfect fit. Once we began blending these two worlds, it became such a natural and exciting process that we couldn’t stop.

LBB> How did you balance humour and playfulness with the gravity of child safety to ensure the message resonated with parents?

Miles and Sophie> We were very careful to ensure we weren’t making light of the issue. But we felt the humour and playfulness were important to communicate this important message in a way that parents wouldn’t ignore, so in that regard, they balanced each other quite naturally.

LBB> Can you walk us through the process of selecting and collaborating with illustrators like David Litchfield and Maxine Vee? What made them perfect for this and what were you going for style-wise?

Miles and Sophie> We wanted to create a campaign that looked sweet and innocent at first glance, then hit the viewer with the bitterness of the headlines. So, we did a lot of deep diving into the world of children's illustration and, in particular, looking for illustrators who could deliver on creating something funny, as well as beautiful. Which isn't easy to find. David and Maxine are so talented they can flex to anything.

David stood out because of his amazing use of texture, colour and light. His work has all the charm of classic children’s illustrations, but there’s an incredible beauty there as well which blew us away. Also, his characters have an expressiveness we really wanted to see on an annoyed and neglected unicorn.

We loved Maxine instantly. She's worked a lot with Disney so we knew she could bring that magical, storybook feel to our singing princess. But then she did some initial sketches of upset, angry animals and they were perfect. The acorn ear defenders sealed the deal.

LBB> The copywriting is absolutely spot-on – tell me more about the process behind that and how you approached it?

Miles and Sophie> First off, thank you! We wrote hundreds of headlines. Some were too cruel, some were too soft, some felt just right. We’re also lucky to work in a very collaborative agency and use our colleagues’ reactions to gauge whether we’d hit the mark or gone too far. The unofficial test was ‘Does it sound like something a drunk grandma might come out with?’.

LBB> What were the biggest challenges in crafting a campaign that needed to stand out among other safety messages?

Miles and Sophie> We felt confident that taking a humorous, light-hearted approach to a child safety campaign would give us an advantage, so the biggest challenge became making sure the client shared our vision. Fortunately for us, we have an amazing client who understands the importance of doing something different, and they were brilliant throughout the whole process.

LBB> How did you approach designing the out-of-home placements to maximise impact and engagement?

Miles and Sophie> We decided to go with three different styles, all from the world of children's illustration, that felt distinct but worked together as a trio. So, if you saw more than one of them, they'd still feel fresh and interesting.

We put a lot into the details and the craft – things like the smug side-eye of the favoured unicorn, the broken-hearted shaped leaves and the squirrel on a stretcher – to reward the viewer for their repeat viewing.

Plus, the bright, child-like colours can't help but instantly pull you in.

LBB> What role did 3D animation play in bringing the campaign to life, and how did Arcade Studio contribute to this vision?

Miles and Sophie> We’d already chosen two more traditional styles of children’s illustration, so we wanted a more modern, Pixar style to complete the set.

Arcade Studio's site is jam-packed full of child-like fun and they've done a lot of work with kids brands like Playmobil and Nickelodeon, so we knew they'd be perfect.

LBB> How did you ensure that the campaign would be both visually compelling and effective in driving awareness and behaviour change?

Miles and Sophie> We knew our target was parents of young children. So, we wanted to appeal to them through a visual world that they're familiar and comfortable with, but then playfully subvert it to raise a smile, and in doing so raise awareness for this brilliant life-saving product.

LBB> Were there any surprising insights from research or testing that shaped the final execution of ‘Bitter Truths’?

Miles and Sophie> We shared the posters with a lot of parents in the agency during the creative process. Seeing how they reacted definitely influenced how we approached the final work, especially with understanding how far we could push the headlines.

LBB> What do you hope the long-term impact of this campaign will be on both consumer awareness and industry safety standards?

Miles and Sophie> We want the campaign to boost consumer awareness of the dangers of lithium coin battery ingestion, especially highlighting Duracell's innovative bitter coating technology to encourage children to spit them out.

Long-term, the hope is that this increased awareness, coupled with the campaign's bold messaging, will drive behavioural changes in how consumers handle these batteries. By spotlighting Duracell's commitment to safety and the rising number of ingestion accidents, the campaign hopes to influence industry standards, encouraging other manufacturers to adopt similar safety features and prioritise child safety in their product design.

The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of child ingestion accidents and make lithium coin batteries which are in so many of our household devices safer for everyone.