• by Aaron Baar , October 4, 2016

With the onset of the cold and flu season will come runny noses, rubbed raw with tissues or anything else nearby. Enter Saline Soothers from Nehemiah Manufacturing, a patented saline wipe to care for dry, itchy noses. 

The new product is an outgrowth of the company’s kid-oriented “Boogie Wipes” product, says Nehemiah president Richard Palmer. Often parents would contact the company asking when an adult-focused product would be available, he says. 

The company is launching the Saline Soothers with a digital and social media advertising campaign that personifies the common cold as an annoying, self-proclaimed “best friend” who interrupts daily interactions.

In a video, the cold follows “Quincy” throughout his day, offering a “dry, irritating tissue” at inopportune times, such as during an important presentation, leaving his nose red and irritated. In a crowded office elevator, one of Quincy’s attractive co-workers offers a Saline Soother, which even The Cold has to admit is comforting and pleasant. 

“When you get sick, you feel like the cold is on your back,” Palmer tells Marketing Daily. “We decided to personify that feeling.”

The video, which will run on YouTube, Facebook and other social channels, also includes an extended ending in which the Cold character openly mocking the product and its ingredients. (“Alcohol-free? Oh, that sounds fun,” he says sarcastically. “I don’t want that.”) The intention, Palmer says, is to get people to click through to the company’s website to view even more outtakes and interactions with the character.

“From early testing, we found 30% of people who engaged with the video went to our website to watch more videos,” Palmer says. 

The company is targeting adults who have purchased or shopped for cold remedies in the past and who live near either a Walgreens or Rite-Aid store, which are the two national chains carrying the product, Palmer says.