Dramamine - The Last Barf Bag
Dramamine approached FCB Chicago for its 75th anniversary. The client wanted to celebrate its legacy by highlighting how effectively it made barf bags obsolete. The challenge was to transform an embarrassing object into a nostalgic cultural artifact, engaging consumers and reinforcing Dramamine's enduring relevance as the premier motion sickness solution. The brand needed a unique, memorable campaign to drive cultural conversation and brand affinity.
Creative Idea
Dramamine turned the barf bags it made obsolete into art, a film, and an exhibition.
Dramamine celebrated its 75th anniversary by creatively honoring the barf bag, an object made nearly irrelevant by its motion sickness medication. The brand created a documentary, pop-up exhibition, and product line that transformed barf bags into art and functional items, turning an embarrassing object into a nostalgic cultural artifact.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
As a 75-year-old leader in motion sickness relief, Dramamine possesses the historical authority to claim responsibility for the decline of the airline barf bag. Its legacy allows it to pivot from a functional medication to a cultural symbol of relief.
Category
The category typically relies on clinical efficacy, symptom-focused imagery, and sterile problem-solution narratives. It rarely engages in self-aware humor or uses high-concept documentary filmmaking to build brand affinity.
Customer
Travelers and collectors feel a quirky nostalgia for the physical artifacts of travel history, even the unpleasant ones. They respond to brands that acknowledge the human reality of motion sickness with wit and creative storytelling.
Culture
A rising cultural obsession with 'dead' objects and retro-nostalgia provided the perfect backdrop for a 75th-anniversary campaign. People are increasingly drawn to tactile, weirdly specific historical narratives that feel authentic and physical.
Company
As a 75-year-old leader in motion sickness relief, Dramamine possesses the historical authority to claim responsibility for the decline of the airline barf bag. Its legacy allows it to pivot from a functional medication to a cultural symbol of relief.
Category
The category typically relies on clinical efficacy, symptom-focused imagery, and sterile problem-solution narratives. It rarely engages in self-aware humor or uses high-concept documentary filmmaking to build brand affinity.
Strategy:
Reclaim brand dominance by celebrating the obsolescence of its only rival—the barf bag—through nostalgic, high-brow cultural preservation.
Customer
Travelers and collectors feel a quirky nostalgia for the physical artifacts of travel history, even the unpleasant ones. They respond to brands that acknowledge the human reality of motion sickness with wit and creative storytelling.
Culture
A rising cultural obsession with 'dead' objects and retro-nostalgia provided the perfect backdrop for a 75th-anniversary campaign. People are increasingly drawn to tactile, weirdly specific historical narratives that feel authentic and physical.
Strategy:
Reclaim brand dominance by celebrating the obsolescence of its only rival—the barf bag—through nostalgic, high-brow cultural preservation.
Strategy Technique
Lean Into Nostalgia
The campaign leveraged collective memory of barf bags, transforming an embarrassing object into a nostalgic artifact. This strategy reinforced Dramamine's legacy by celebrating the past it made obsolete.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Exhibit the Truth
Dramamine transformed the ordinary, embarrassing barf bag into precious art and functional items. This exhibition reframed perception, turning a symbol of discomfort into a nostalgic cultural artifact.
Explore Technique
