Three dogs on a red sofa with a box of Rennies

Rennie wants dog owners to stop the blame game

The campaign, by McCann London, calls time on Britain's oldest fart cover-up

By Creative Salon

Rennie®, the UK’s No.1 best-selling heartburn and indigestion tablet brand, has partnered with McCann London and Initiative Media, both part of BOND, Omnicom's dedicated Bayer unit, to launch a new integrated campaign for Rennie Wind Relief Pro. The campaign introduces Rennie®'s first dedicated trapped wind product and cements the brand as a credible player in the wind relief category.

Built around the insight that dogs have been unfairly taking the blame for human flatulence for generations, the campaign called “Stop the Blame Game” uses Rennie®’s style of droll British humour to call for justice for the nation’s canines.

The campaign centres around the truth that dogs have taken the blame for human digestive indiscretions for long enough. Through documentary-style interviews, a staged protest and social content, Rennie® shines a light on the wrongly accused dogs while positioning Rennie® Wind Relief Pro as the solution.

The activity kicks off in cinema, and spans TV, digital and social with a short content series. The work enlisted a cast of well-known voices including Bill Bailey, Pete Wicks, Susie Dent, and Annette Badland, with each helping tell the stories of dogs who have unfairly shouldered the blame for their owners' indiscretions.

The campaign broadens the Rennie® brand within digestive health, driving consideration among adults seeking effective relief from trapped wind, bloating and abdominal cramping symptoms.

Rebecca Huda, regional category lead UK & EMEA digestive health, said: “Rennie® has helped people manage digestive discomfort for over 90 years, but with Rennie® Wind Relief Pro we saw an opportunity to introduce our wind relief offering in a way that would genuinely capture attention.

“We loved the simplicity and humour of 'Stop the Blame Game' because it shines a light on a familiar experience that so many people recognise. Humour has the power to make everyday health conversations more accessible.”

James Millers, executive creative director at McCann London said: "This work is built on a lovely lateral insight which allows us to reframe the conversation around a sensitive subject in a fresh and playful way. Owners using dogs as the fall guy for their wind problems? Never acceptable. Us using dogs as the fall guy to deliver that message? That’s the kind of meta I can get behind."

Jon Elsom, executive creative director, global brands at McCann London, added: "The winds of change were blowing at Rennie® and this new product deserved a cut-through campaign. The ignominy of our nation's dogs needed to end. This work will end the howling injustice of the blame game."

The campaign launches this week and will run across multiple channels for 3 months.

Credits:

Client: Bayer, Rennie®

Agency: McCann London

Client Team

Alexandra Burger, EMEA Category Head – Digestive Health

Rebecca Huda, Regional Category Lead UK & EMEA – Digestive Health

Stephanie Watson, Senior Brand Manager

Millie Foreman, Assistant Brand Manager

Oriana Pich, Head of Medical Affairs, Europe North

Oliver Matthers, Senior Medical Affairs Advisor

McCann London

Rebecca Harrison, Client Partner

Richard Kelly, Global Creative Strategy Partner

Jon Elsom, Creative Director

Tom Smith, Creative

Darren Urquhart, Creative

Amie Meadowcroft, Account Manager

Julia Shuker, Senior Account Director

Katie Ferris, Senior Account Director

Trevor Davis, Operations Director

Omnicom Production

James Faupal, Director of Production

Neil Checketts, Implementation Manager

Ellery Wooff, Junior Producer

Chloe Brown, Senior Producer

Amarlyllis Hind, Business Affairs

Initiative

Caroline Manning, Chief Design Officer (Media Planning)

Chloe Walker-Smith, Account Manager – Communications Design

Georgie Hill, Associate Director – Comms Design

Olivia Howe, AV Manager

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