Client:: Icy Hot
Category:: CPG/ OTC Health and Wellness
Creative Campaign:: Rise From Pain

BIG PAIN RELIEF EVEN BIGGER MAN

For years, Icy Hot had been the leader in pain relief. Then, new global competitors like Biofreeze and Voltaren started entering the U.S. market. These brands had sharper efficacy stories; Icy Hot had a much smaller budget. To remind people why Icy Hot still deserved to lead, we turned the brand’s own name into proof, reframing “ice + heat” as “contrast therapy.”

We introduced this big pain relief by building a flexible platform around an equally big man: Shaq. The platform could move from serious athletic credibility to social-native entertainment. The idea powered the core “Rise from Pain” campaign, extended into Icy Hot Pro with elite athletes, and even stretched into Icy Hot Kids with the intentionally ridiculous “Kid Shaq.”