Mentholatum backs relaunch of Oxy range with £1.5m campaign

The Mentholatum Company is ploughing &£1.5m into relaunching its recently acquired Oxy brand of medicated skin care products.

The US-based pharmaceutical giant, which bought the brand from GlaxoSmithKline last year, has reformulated several products in the range and has also revamped the packaging to give the brand a modern feel.

The relaunch will be supported by a new TV campaign, created by Nitro and due to air on Channel 4 over Easter, along with significant internet activity.

The ad shows teenagers in everyday situations, such as waiting for a bus, breaking into song and joining in the chorus of the West Side Story hit “I Feel Pretty”, to emphasise the fact that they have clear skin. A Mentholatum spokesman says that the execution was developed with teenage focus groups, which said they preferred a positive message that focused on the confidence that clear skin can bring as opposed to campaigns that have featured acne-sufferers looking depressed.

The spokesman says: “Oxy is a confident brand which is not scared to be different. The red packaging, the new advertising and the fact that everything is directly relevant to teenagers makes Oxy stand out.”

The Mentholatum Company, which also owns the Deep Heat and Softlips brands, is a subsidiary of the Japanese group Rohto Pharmaceutical.