Why Advil Canada is Fighting Gaming-Induced Headaches
With around six million gamers right now and counting, Canada is seeing an influx of enthusiasts who have a passion for escaping into interactive, on-screen adventures. And, whether or not they’re knocking people to the floor with a giant, rocket-powered hammer, obliterating their enemies with space magic, or going toe-to-toe with another player to defend a lane, the experiences all have one very strong linking element: the risk of inducing gaming headaches.
While this may not be the most surprising thing, it turns out that, in fact, exposing one’s self to consistent stimuli, be it flashing lights, shaking screens or visual clutter can have negative physical repercussions. And while that’s never really deterred an eager gamer before, at the end of the day, these sorts of activities are usually better enjoyed when one is feeling close to 100%.
With that in mind, Advil Canada wanted to make a difference, beyond just giving more meds to gamers with hurting heads. And to this end, it partnered with Edelman Canada to launch ‘Advil Head Settings’. Working with cognitive scientist Dr. Séamas Weech, the seven most headache-inducing gaming genres were identified, from which general setting optimisations per category were tested with an 80% success rate on a group of headache-prone gamers.
But, it didn’t stop there. To market these discoveries, popular Canadian content creator Mtashed was brought on board, starring central alongside Séamas, publicising and emphasising the importance of good settings for those with a desire to invest serious amounts of time into playing.
To learn more about this process, and how it all came to life, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Edelman Canada’s creative director and VP, Shauna Roe, as well as Advil Canada’s senior brand manager, Amrita Maharajh, for a chat.
LBB> What was the brief, and where did the idea of creating ideal, headache-reducing settings for gamers come from?
Amrita> Our foundation for the brief was based on our brand’s purpose, which is to have Canadians reclaim life’s possibilities. As a leading pain relief brand, we recognised that gaming headaches can be the invisible enemy and we saw an opportunity.
Video games have evolved significantly since the very first iteration. Today, games practically have the ability to transport us to another world with the advanced on-screen action and stimulus. While this is an incredible experience if you love gaming, it also means that more is required from our bodies and brains to focus and play, giving rise to sensitivities that cause gaming headaches. The introduction of ‘Advil Head Settings’ underscores the brand’s commitment to enhancing the gaming experience for players of all levels. With these, the brand is not just helping to reduce gaming headache triggers; it’s also empowering gamers to customise their performance, comfortably.
LBB> Specifically, why were gamers an important demographic for the brand to target? And why now?
Amrita> As the trusted brand that Canadians have turned to for over 25 years, Advil is committed to offering consumers trusted solutions for their pain needs. With the gaming industry evolving to offer such immersive experiences, Advil identified gamers because we found a genuine opportunity to help. We certainly feel exploring this target audience is a relevant, refreshing, and trailblazing initiative to connect with a growing community in Canada.
LBB> Where does one get started on an endeavour like this? And what made Dr. Séamas Weech and Mtashed the right people to collaborate with for this endeavour?
Shauna> Once we had this idea of helping gamers essentially hack their game settings to prevent headaches, we knew we had to legitimise the process and the eventual settings to ensure they were truly effective.
Dr Séamas was our first step in really bringing ‘Advil Head Settings’ to life. We found him while researching gaming headaches through his published work, and kept saying, ‘We should find someone just like this guy [Seamas]’ until one of our team members said, ‘Why don’t we just ask him?’. Once we connected, he was excited and on board.
At the same time, we wanted to balance his very professional persona with a spirited gamer who had experience with gaming headaches, and that’s where Mtashed came in.
LBB> Tell us about the initial research process. What were some of the key takeaways that came from this, and how did they factor into your creative approach?
Shauna> The initial research was really key in forming the creative idea. We started by looking at what factors cause a gaming headache in the first place: brightness, camera shake, strobing, render quality, etc. The ‘aha’ moment was realising that many causal factors of a gaming headache are the same factors that gamers have control over, right in their in-game settings. This led us to the core idea, which was to create optimised game settings to prevent a gaming headache.
Amrita> From there, the research tested customised settings against default in-game settings amongst a group of headache-prone gamers. Through a series of tests, we concluded that the use of ‘Advil Head Settings’ led to a more comfortable gaming experience for the majority of players, with a reduction in some triggers that can lead to headaches. The visual clarity and blurring were examples of variables that influenced players preferences.
LBB> Tell us more about how you specifically selected gaming genres to optimise settings in! And how did you adjust for each one?
Shauna> After landing on the idea, we looked at the most headache-inducing game genres. These seven genres were: First-Person Shooters, Third-Person Shooters, RPG, Action RPG, MOBA, Sports, and Racing.
In taking a genre-based approach, we could guarantee that most games within each genre correlated with the settings recommendations we created for each genre. This meant you could have multiple RPG games, and the RPG ‘Advil Head Settings’ would apply to all those games.
LBB> From here, what was the testing process like? How many gamers did you bring in, and how did you fine tune for the best possible outcome?
Shauna> Once settings were developed for each genre, Séamas conducted tests on a group of 10 headache-prone gamers, measuring things like eye strain, fatigue, fullness of head, blurred vision, fast headache, and general discomfort. From the initial study, 80% of headache-prone gamers preferred ‘Advil Head Settings’ to the game’s default settings.
LBB> The spot itself is hilarious! What was the writing process like? How did you balance the fun with an informative tone?
Shauna> We had a general idea of a script, but it was really when Dr Séamas and Mtashed got involved that the writing came to life. The two are such an odd couple that we knew early on we had to have them play off each other.
We were also very cognisant of our gamer audience and studied informative yet entertaining videos they watch regularly, like Vox and Wired.
LBB> Building on this, what was shooting like? Where did it take place, and what was working with Séamas and Mtashed like?
Shauna> Everything was shot in one studio with a few different setups. This allowed us to try a lot of different things in a day. There were plenty of fun shooting the greenscreen moments that we used for our ‘Mortal Kombat’-style campaign visual. Shoutout to director Brad Dworkin and The Pub – our production partners in this.
As for our leads, they’re exactly how you see them in the video – no acting required! They both brought so much colour to this and were wonderful to work with. I enjoyed watching them bond between takes on set.
LBB> The editing is also excellent! What did it take to bring the final spot to life?
Shauna> That’s all thanks to the incredible Paul Skinner! He graciously invited creative to sit with him for hours on end through some weird and wonderful trial and error. The spot is fun because we had so much fun in the editing room. That, and a really awesome and trusting client.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Shauna> Given the nature of an OTC brand, there were multiple legal messages to consider. To this end, we saw an opportunity to leverage Dr Séamas as the voice of reason, who’d cover our legal bases, allowing for Mtashed to be a little more fun and chaotic. What started as a challenge made for really great banter between the two.
Amrita> I wouldn’t say we faced any specific challenges; it was more that we took additional time in the planning and research phase to ensure we developed a campaign that resonated with our target demographic. We needed to ensure we had the right set up, experts, and research to develop settings that were inclusive and effective to the gaming community.
LBB> Do you have any memorable lessons learned from the making of this new campaign?
Shauna> I learned that ‘cybersickness’ is a thing.
Amrita> The importance of staying true to our audience and being authentic was certainly a strong lesson learned from the making of this campaign. Pain relief spans across a spectrum of audiences, with discerning needs and levels. No other pain brand is speaking to gamers, so this is an untapped opportunity and differentiator for Advil in the pain category. With around 6 million gamers in Canada, gaming headaches can be an invisible enemy to an audience that is so passionate about what they love to do. Our goal was to connect with players of all levels to enhance their gaming experience by offering proactive and simple solutions to help them play the games they want to play at their best.
LBB> What has the initial response been like? How have people reacted to the campaign?
Shauna> Response has been really positive so far! People love to see a helpful, proactive solution from a brand like Advil. Part of the ‘Head Settings’ launch happened via Twitch streamers, and I was fearful of the comment section, but we’ve seen overwhelming appreciation from the gaming community to date.
LBB> Knowing that gamers appreciate the platform, is this a space you’ll continue to operate in going forward? And how does this fit into Advil’s branding for 2024 and beyond?
Amrita> Advil is committed to offering consumers trusted solutions for their pain needs. So, we certainly feel exploring this target audience further is a possibility, as it is relevant, refreshing, and a trailblazing initiative to connect with a growing community in Canada.
LBB> Finally, will this campaign be making you rethink the way you approach video game sessions going forward?
Shauna> My gaming experience doesn’t extend far beyond randomly-occurring sessions of ‘The Sims’ and ‘Rollercoaster Tycoon’, but I was certainly inspired by gamers eager to try ‘Advil Head Settings’ that’ll allow them to game without pain.
