Spoof Campaign Crime Medicin Made In Sweden

Written by Igor Beuker on November 16th, 2008 |

Two months ago we lost a pitch for a campaign to warn Dutch consumers against buying fake and dangerous pills on the internet. Amazingly our concept was exactly the same as the concept I saw today: Crime Medicine. It’s a campaign launched in Sweden to inform citizens that more than 60 percent of prescription drugs sold on the internet are counterfeit and potentially dangerous, or substandard.

I hope our Dutch “client” is reading this item and sees how much buzz similar campaigns can create without a lot of media budget. Since our client said: we like your idea, but we feel such a campaign is too guerrilla and rebellious for us. We said: “it’s not about you, right? It’s about what the target group will think?”

The online experience starts on a fake online pharmacy, but after a few seconds the user is taken to the backstage of the site, to discover the truth that hides behind that e-tailer.

You don’t have to speak Swedish to appreciate the video and the website, but in case you are interested in learning more about the reasons and the goals behind the action, you can read the press release on the Swedish Medical Products Agency.

Among the other things, you will be surprised to discover that 3 percent of the Swedish population between 25 and 65 years old claim in a survey from 2007 that they have ordered medications on the internet.

The interesting part of the campaign is the integration of Web and TV since on TV the commercial tries to lure visitors to visit www.crimemedicine.com, with the promise of being able to buy drugs without prescription.

The Crime Medicine campaign seems to be a big success in Sweden, says Dagens Media. The campaign was created by Granath Euro RSCG.

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Source: Adverblog and Reklamfeber.