• by Les Luchter , Yesterday

NBA and broadcasting legend Shaquille O’Neal, an Icy Hot spokesperson for over 20 years, not only stars in the brand’s latest ad campaign as the leader of a pain-fighting army of tiny warriors inside every bottle -- but his head now graces the top of those bottles.

Ten of those bottles, to be exact, which will be given away to winners of a sweepstakes running through June 30. Users of the “Shaq Pack,” as the product has been dubbed, will not only get to roll Shaq onto their pain, but also hear audio “Shaq-Isms” with every roll.

There are over 20 different recorded phrases -- everything from “Show me your muscles” and “It’s a bad day to be pain” to our favorites: “Do not put me in a gym bag with no dirty drawers, please” and a hearty “Shaquille O’Heal.”

The sweepstakes is being promoted through social media posts by both Shaq and Icy Hot, as well as a paid social campaign, the brand tells Marketing Daily.

Meanwhile, the “Comeback Cavalry” campaign, which began in March during TNT’s coverage of Unrivaled, the new women’s three-on-three basketball league, continues  through year’s end on linear TV, streaming, online video and YouTube.  While the campaign ran during the NBA playoffs through the conference championships, the buy didn’t include the finals, which start Thursday on ABC.

Icy Hot’s target audience is “everyday athletes” ages 18-30 who exercise frequently.

Agencies involved with Icy Hot’s marketing include The Martin Agency, UEG Worldwide, MRM, Havas and The Bam , in addition to the Social Media Team from parent company Opella Healthcare.

“Companies are adopting targeted marketing campaigns and product-specific advertisements to educate users about the benefits of topical pain relief, driving product awareness and acceptance,” explained Imarc Group in a recent report, tabbing the size of the North American market in 2024 at around $3.9 billion. 

Imarc said the growth of topical pain relievers, which include patches, gels, creams and sprays, is due to such factors as  “the rising demand for non-opioid analgesics, expanding aging population, heightened consumer preference for OTC products, ongoing product innovations with enhanced formulations, and wider availability through e-commerce and retail pharmacies.”

In addition to Sanofi, which owns Opella, Imarc listed GSK, Novartis, Pfizer and Reckitt Benckiser as among other leading players in the category.

Significant recent brand launches, it said, include extensions into the category by Haleon’s Advil (“Targeted Relief”) and Kenvue’s Tylenol (“Precise Pain Relieving Cream”).