• by Les Luchter , Staff Writer, Yesterday

“Gum is Dumb,” says the voiceover in a :15 spot as the screen shows a sloth blowing bubble gum. The viewer next sees the animal with a package of Neuro gum, which is labeled prominently for “Energy & Focus.” The sloth is next shown playing a classical piece on a piano as the voiceover and a screen graphic both declare that “Neuro is Smart (Gum).”

The spot is part of 11-year-old Neuro’s’ first brand campaign, running through at least early summer, and coinciding with a rollout at Walmart stores this month and at Costco in May. CVS has already been selling the brand for the past two years.

“We're working with these retailers to build a category -- [smart gum] -- that didn’t exist,” Neuro’s Chief Commercial Officer Brian Evangelista tells Marketing Daily.

“Solidifying” that category is one of three campaign goals, Evangelista says, along with “celebrating” a new logo and packaging,  and telling its “own story” for the first time.

The brand’s story had previously been told mainly told through word-of-mouth, and through third-party connections -- including two appearances on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” and working with “tens of thousands of content creators.”

Neuro plays in the larger “functional chewing gum” market, which 360iResearch estimates had a global value of $2.27 billion last year, growing to $2.46 billion this year, and an expected $4.09 billion in 2032.

That market includes gums that combat decay and freshen breath, ones that focus on weight management and appetite control, in addition to gums that boost energy.

Neuro’s formula includes caffeine (about a half cup of coffee’s worth), L-theanine, and B-vitamins for what Evangelists calls “a nice consistent energy boost and focus boost.”

He adds, “We typically don't replace coffee or energy drinks. Almost 90% of the people that chew Neuro find it beneficial for steady energy throughout the day -- when one wants to drink a warm energy drink, and you can't put coffee in your pocket.”

The brand backs up its claims with several studies, including one with MIT that Evangelista says “showed 21% more effectiveness in focus in certain tasks.” 

The “Gum Is Dumb” campaign, with its hero video created with Adventure Studio and Take Care Productions, is slated to run on connected TV, other paid media and organic social, with amplification through influencer partnerships, experiential activations and a college ambassador program.

The activations kick off April 23 in New York City with a cocktail bar event featuring “The Great Big Game Show,” which is an immersive experience said to simulate a televised game show.

The college ambassador program “started at the beginning of the year,” per Evangelista, “because of the wild demand we have on college campuses.”

Indeed, a key brand target, he says, are  “the early lives of college students managing energy on their own for the first time,” adding though, that “Neuro plays an even bigger role for all those tired parents out there striving to do it all – the sandwich generation.”

Some elements in Neuro’s big expansion from online-heavy retailing -- which includes Amazon and what the brand says is a top 10 TikTok Shop position -- into more brick-and-mortar are still playing themselves out. That includes the “findability challenge,” per Evangelista, with, for example, Neuro being grouped with supplements at Walmart, and at CVS in end caps but also in the checkout lane “with regular gum.”

Retail tie-in marketing is also coming, Evangelista promises, as well as tie-in products. “If the sloth specifically moves you, keep an eye out for some slothy merch drops on neurogum.com,” he advises.

So why feature a sloth in the campaign?

“We needed consumers to grasp ‘slow” while also hitting on an emotion that disrupted their attention, and we needed to do both those things in less than a second,” Evangelista states. “Feeling slothy is something everyone can relate to,” he explains, pointing to the animal’s relevance in the “Zootopia 2” movie.

He also thanked Adventure Studios for “finding us a sloth handler” for Stella and Rico, the two sloths who share star billing.