Pharmaceutical marketer Bayer Consumer Care is taking its Alka-Seltzer brand back to the future in an updated version of an old ad campaign in which comedian Kathy Griffin reprises the famous line:
"Try it, you'll like it." The original spot debuted in 1971, and the line became a popular, cultural catch phrase. It refers to someone eating something they're not quite sure about, and then
regretting it later when they need some Alka-Seltzer to relieve an aching stomach. "Alka-Seltzer has some of the most familiar advertising in television history," said Jay Kolpon, vice president for
marketing and new business at Bayer Consumer Care. "When you have a library like ours to choose from and a brand that's still relevant, you're lucky," he added. The spot marks the second time that
Bayer Consumer Care has revived a vintage commercial. In December, two cast members of "Everybody Loves Raymond," Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle, appeared in a remake of the 1972 Alka-Seltzer spot
known as "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." The re-created commercial is to begin running today on television as well as on the brand's Web site (alka-seltzer.com), where it will be accompanied
by features like a "blooper reel" of outtakes.
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