Reckitt Benckiser is spending a massive £20m on a new winter advertising campaign for its key cold and flu protection brands.

Dettol, Nurofen, Strepsils and Lemsip will each appear in separate TV, radio and online adverts from later this month.

Reckitt is devoting £4m of the budget to Strepsils Handy Tubes, the central product in the push.

The ad, featuring the animated Mr Throat character, will focus on the portability of the plastic tubes that Reckitt launched onto count­line fixtures last October with the aim of boosting winter remedy sales in independent retailers.

The company is also running a nationwide field sales campaign, in which it will contact 8,000 independent stores every fortnight during the ­winter and offer sales support.

The level of marketing investment given to the cold and flu products was more akin to that typically given to mainstream food brands, claimed Strepsils brand manager Stuart Ayre.

"The unprecedented level of support we are giving to this cold and flu season shows how important this time of year is to us and to the independent retailers we work with," he said. "Most sales of cold and flu products are distress-based so the convenience sector is ideal for our focus."

Throat lozenges have been a success story for the winter remedy category this year with sales up 5% by value to £60m and 4% by volume [Kantar].

Reckitt's sales have increased 9% to £6.17bn over the past year although European sales fell by 1% on a like-for-like basis as strong growth in health & personal was offset by slow sales in fabric care.

Read more
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