I tried Corsodyl once. My mum had a bottle in her bathroom cabinet and, as it said it was a mouthwash, I took a liberal swig. It was very much like rinsing with floor polish and Polo mints. But it is a 'medicine' and the worse a medicine tastes, the more effective it is, right? Anyway, I didn't expect this obscure pharmaceutical brand to cross my radar again (I was pretty sure I didn't have gingivitis, largely because I didn't know what it was). I was wrong, though.
A couple of years ago a TV ad appeared which was something of a taboo-buster. I wrote about it at the time, because it featured a lady's naked bottom. It was all very tasteful - she was standing in a wheat field, in soft focus, looking very demure. With her bum out.
As the camera panned up, the young lady turned to face us and smile charmingly. That's when we noticed she had a tooth missing. It was a Corsodyl ad and it was rather brilliant. Not only did it manage to convince the ASA that in certain circumstances we could now use bare butts in advertising, it actually delivered its proposition with panache, impact and surprise. I thought it was a tremendous bit of work from Grey London.
Of course, all great ads require a sequel - and now we have one, with a new strapline to boot.
Interestingly, when the new ad appeared there was a fair amount of traffic commenting on that strapline. It reads: 'For People Who Spit Blood When They Brush Their Teeth' and most people considered it overlong, too blunt and generally unsatisfactory. I can't agree.
Every copywriter knows the importance of engaging the target audience and the Corsodyl strap does that wonderfully. If you gob claret into the sink when you clean your pearly whites, you know about it. When an advertisement addresses the subject, you know it's referring to you. The ad has immediately engaged you - and that's its job. Straplines can be humorous, witty or clever - but that should never be the priority. Grey's copywriter couldn't have grasped this any better.
The body of the ad also works superbly. Again we meet a very beautiful woman (clothed in this one). She's applying mascara in preparation for a night out and it's making her eye bleed. Yikes! "We wouldn't ignore blood from any other part of our body, so why do we ignore it from our gums?" runs the voice-over.
Blam! Point made, in the most arresting and memorable way. Just to hammer it home, as our glamorous friend leaves the house, she pushes her lip back to reveal a gap in her gums. "After all, a missing tooth is much harder to ignore." Sold! We're simultaneously presented with proof that our teeth are a crucial part of an attractive appearance and a means of protecting them from disease.
Happily, the spot enjoys some outstanding art direction too. As with the girl-in-the-field execution, this work has a quality feel. Inventive camera angles coupled with careful styling and atmospheric lighting - both ads are pleasure to watch.
So congratulations to everyone at GSK (who make Corsodyl) and Grey. This really is one of my favourite campaigns for years. Even if the stuff still tastes like minty floor cleaner.
Magnus Shaw is a blogger, copywriter and consultant
Matt October 29th, 2013, late afternoon
I find myself in the rare position of disagreeing with you. Both the spots you mention promote a deeply superficial (and subjective) notion of beauty that is at best a bit shallow and at worst deeply insulting to those who through no fault of their own can't measure up to this arbitrary viewpoint. The message here is that nothing you do will or can ever be that will compensate you for a facial disfigurement. That's a nasty piece of communication. Furthermore, bleeding guns do not mean that you're going to lose a tooth. There are any number of possible outcomes for this symptom and Corsodyl isn't always necessary or the only solution. These are scare tactics and it's deeply unpleasant. This isn't promoting a charity or highlighting an issue, it's flogging a mouthwash.