• by Les Luchter , May 13, 2025

If Allegra can help Sneezy and Sleepy control allergies and stay awake without impairing brain function, why not race car drivers and pit stop crews? So the Opella Healthcare brand is extending its “No Brainer” campaign from “Snow White” to the Indianapolis 500.

During the May 25 race, millions of TV viewers will see the debut of the “Allegra Pit Shop” -- a key part of the non-drowsy medication’s just-announced team-up with the Andretti Global racing team and its star driver Marcus Ericsson.

Ericsson  is “an allergy sufferer himself. He knows what it means to have mental focus,” Samuel Morisse, Opella’s vice president-allergy brand North America, tells Marketing Daily. “That ties in perfectly with our 0% brain interference messaging.”

Per Allegra’s website, the medication -- or its ingredient fexofenadine, also available in generic versions  -- causes “0% brain interference due to drowsiness” [our emphasis], while other antihistamines “can cross a protective layer called the blood-brain barrier, making you drowsy.” 

During the Indy 500, while Allegra’s logo will be visible on Ericsson’s car, uniform and helmet, his pit stop will be the campaign’s focal point, and the pit crew will sport a large QR code on the back of their uniforms.

That’s where the partners will be seeking alert TV viewers with reaction times perhaps as quick as Ericsson and his crew.

Consumers who are focused and non-drowsy enough to scan that QR code while the pit crew is doing its job will have the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes from the connected landing page, Andretti President Jill Gregory explains to Marketing Daily.  Prizes include a VIP experience at a future race.

Gregory points to similar focus between “what we have to do as a race team and what Allegra does as a product,” with its non-drowsiness claim echoing the team’s focus on “absolute brain function and precision.” So, she says, “the collaboration “just made a lot of sense for us.”

To get people primed to look for and scan the QR code, Gregory says the activation will be promoted on-air by Indy 500 broadcaster Fox, by Ericsson in pre-race media interviews, and through social media.

Another element of the campaign began today with Allegra’s launch of an online “reaction-time” game mirroring the race’s pitstop, which requires quick reflexes for such activities as changing a car’s tires.  Morisse says the game is designed for consumers to “make sure they can stay focused and sharp ahead of the race,” with alert players getting the chance to win discounts on Allegra purchases. 

Morisse says Allegra is driving traffic to the game through paid digital, emails and other touchpoints. 

Gregory points out that, besides the Indy 500, May also marks the start of allergy season, another reason why Andretti’s tie-in with Allegra “makes sense.” Then, there’s the location: “I can personally say that I'm an Allegra user and as a new resident of Indianapolis, I can say that I bet most people are Allegra users because there's quite a big allergy opportunity here….Ideally, we would build this into a longer relationship.”