• by Les Luchter , January 29, 2024

Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, stars of Comedy Central’s long-running comedy series “Broad City,” reunite five years later for a comedic “Gut Gap” conversation on behalf of Bayer’s constipation medication MiraLax.

In a three-minute video, an irritable Glazer reveals that “I feel like a Thanksgiving blimp stuffed with packing peanuts,” but Jacobson has MiraLax packets conveniently on hand. The latter explains that “women are more likely to be stressed than men, and twice as likely to be constipated.”

Or as MiraLax puts it in a press release, women are  “more than twice as likely as men to be pooping less than three times a week.”

MiraLax has coined and trademarked these discrepancies as “The Gut Gap.” In addition to the long-form video, the brand has launched shorter videos as well as a dedicated educational website. Paid media include connected TV, digital and social, with all content co-written and co-created by the Jacobson and Glazer.

The target audience for the two millennials is millennials, backed by a brand-commissioned survey of 2,000 millennial women which found 90% of them “reporting that stress impacts their gut.” Also, 85% routinely have stress on their minds, 47% experience stress daily and 84% feel stressed at least once a week

“While this stress can cause constipation in women,” the brand says, “the inverse is also true – two in three women feel more stressed when they experience constipation.”

“Lighten your gut and your mood,” concludes the long-form video. And while MiraLax can help with the gut, laughter can help with the stress. That’s according to 48% of those surveyed, and serves as an explanation for MiraLax approaching Jacobson and Glazer for a humorous commercial.

It also didn't hurt that the duo is familiar with the topic.

“Poop is an important tenet of one's comedic voice, and Abbi and I have written, acted in, directed and produced (no pun intended) many storylines and scenes on the topic,” Glazer stated in the press release.

“Constipation is no laughing matter, but our approach to exposing The Gut Gap and the reality of how stress leaves women feeling metaphorically and physically backed up is bound to evoke a few laughs,” Dana Valentino, marketing director, Digestive Health, Bayer Consumer Health, noted in the release. “We’re hoping to engage women in a national conversation about the root causes of constipation and offer some much-needed comedic relief.”

Agencies involved with The Gut Gap campaign include Energy BBDO, Oliver and Coyne PR.