Competing antacids Pepcid and Tums have been targeting NFL fans
who may be affected adversely by eating all those acidic foods advertised during playoff games.
Pepcid
Kenvue’s Pepcid Complete ran to the rescue this month by
“Delivering Fast Relief” -- with the help of Baltimore Ravens star running back Derrick Henry.
“I’ve teamed up with @pepcid to ensure your legendary game day
foods don’t lead to heartburn,” Henry declared on one Instagram post. “With Pepcid Complete you get fast relief that lasts all
day, so you can stay locked in!”
Henry will meet with one fan in person as the winning prize of a Pepcid Complete sweepstakes that he was promoting. The sweeps, which ran from Jan. 8 to
Jan. 26, was also promoted via Pepcid channels, a dedicated microsite, media
outreach to consumer, sports and food outlets, and paid media on Amazon streaming TV and Meta platforms.
advertisement
advertisement
Pepcid has also paid for in-app banner placements in the DoorDash platform. Those ads
promote a partnership, running through Feb.9, the day after the Super Bowl, which provides app customers with $4 off their orders when they include Pepcid Complete.
The paid media was
bought by Omnicom’s Universal McCann, with CAA doing social creative execution and talent representation, Dentsu’s Merkle sweepstakes logistics and execution, Omnicom’s Weber
Shandwick earned media and talent representation, and Weber Shandwick’s Flipside Group the sweepstakes microsite.
Tums
Haleon’s Tums, a calcium carbonate product,
has been running its own NFL Playoffs-related promotion, selling a $30 limited-edition football-shaped “Burn Ball” online, which when opened yields up a bottom of Tums Chewy
Bites.
The brand has also just concluded its own
sweepstakes, titled “Pass the Tums,” which teamed up with YouTube creator Eric Decker in soliciting consumer videos for the
chance to win a grand prize of $5,000, as well as 50 additional prizes of a $50 UberEats gift card.
Agencies involved include Dentsu’s Merkle and Dentsu Creative.
Tums is clearly
looking ahead to Super Bowl Sunday, Citing research from a 2024 study it commissioned from Talker Research, the brand says ”one in four Big Game watchers experience occasional heartburn from
their favorite foods — and 75% of those fans are unprepared, without relief on hand.”
The U.S. antacid market, propelled by “changing dietary habits” was estimated at
$3.0 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $32.73 billion, per Grand View Research.
Other factors driving growth include rising cases of digestive issues like gastroesophageal reflux disease
(GERD), peptic ulcers, and other stomach problems, and lifestyle factors like stress, smoking, alcohol use and obesity, the researcher said.
Additional OTC players include Procter &
Gamble’s Rolaids, and Kenvue’s own Mylanta.