09/27/2003 11:44:00 AM
The pain-reliever market is becoming increasingly crowded and commodified and generic/store-brand equivalents are rapidly gaining market share. Tylenol has faced the facts, realizing that if its brand is to survive into the future, it has to find a way to win some level of brand loyalty among teens and young adults (tomorrow's parents and heads of household.)
As such, they have launched an elaborate campaign called, 'ouch,' promoting Tylenol as the pain reliever of choice for extreme sports athletes who embrace pain and injury as badges of honor, who think pain is cool.
http://www.ouchthewebsite.com

At the core of the strategy is the notion that a teen finds extreme and dangerous sports and activities appealing because participation in them proves to his peers, to adults and even to himself that he is emancipated from his parents (a momma's boy wouldn't do such things,) and, more crucially, that he is not 'posing,' not pretending to be a part of the peer group (a poser wouldn't go so far as to seriously risk his physical body.) Being an extreme skater, an extreme bmx racer, or for that matter a jackass stunt-kid, thief, graffiti artist or a participant in any super-risky behavior can serve as a much sought-after badge of authenticity within these segments.

But the risk for a teen, or a brand, in adopting extreme sport or edgy subculture styles, identities or imagery, is the constant witch-hunt within these segments for posers, for fakers, for those who try too hard to seem authentic, for those who wear the gear but don't really take the risks. The fact of the matter is that most suburban kids who wear skater clothes don't really skate, let alone extreme skate to the point of risking injury. Outside of the inner circles, most of these 'extreme' identities are aspirational with an undertone of self-consciousness about that inauthenticity and a constant inspection of others who might expose the game.

This is where a campaign like Tylenol's 'ouch' can miss the mark and crash hard. Yes, willingness and even enthusiasm to face pain and injury can be a badge of authenticity to their target segment. That is a well-founded insight and if a brand could get through and deliver a subtly branded experience showcasing this authenticity, it could pay off. But far far more likely in this case is that teens will smell the strategy and the self-consciousness of the approach, and will turn off.
article entitled, 'Tylenol targets extreme-sports crowd with pain-is-cool concept'
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