Boots Proves You are Never too Far From a Pharmacists

Boots has launched its first long-term behaviour change campaign in a bid to get Brits to think of their pharmacist first when they have a health concern.

The campaign features a humorous new TV advert that sees pharmacists pop up in unexpected places as people start to notice symptoms of ill health – from cafés and restaurants to local parks and swimming pools – to highlight the range of conditions they can support through advice, diagnosis and treatment, which they can access in 1,800 Boots stores across the UK.

Importantly, the campaign launches a long-term creative platform – Pharmacists Everywhere – that has been designed to shift perceptions of Boots from a healthcare retailer to the first port of call for people’s total healthcare.

According to new research from Boots, two in five (39%) people admit to regularly de-prioritising their health during the busy back-to-school season. Feeling a burden to GPs (40%) and the time it takes to book and go to an appointment (49%), came out as the top reasons people may put their health on hold. Although pharmacists can advise on, diagnose and treat a range of common health conditions, nearly half (40%) of UK adults say their GP remains their first port of call when they do seek help.

​Laura Gooday, director of marketing at Boots, said, “This is our first behaviour change healthcare campaign that is designed and built for the long term. We know that, despite the broad range of healthcare support pharmacists can now provide, people don’t always think to visit their pharmacy first when they feel unwell. Pharmacists Everywhere as a creative platform seeks to address that.

“By humorously showing our pharmacists pop up in unexpected places outside the pharmacy, we want to disrupt the typical healthcare journey of feeling unwell, waiting it out, and seeking support from a GP when symptoms don’t improve. Instead, we are encouraging people to visit their local Boots pharmacy as soon as they start feeling unwell, and in this campaign, we celebrate the wide range of healthcare conditions they can support people with – from earache to contraception – with no appointment needed.

“Pharmacists Everywhere is also one of our strongest articulations of our brand purpose – With You, For Life, reflecting the importance of healthcare to customers throughout their lives and to Boots as a business. Our ambition is that we will use Pharmacists Everywhere as the starting point for our healthcare campaigns in the coming months and years as we know that shifting behaviour is a long-term commitment that requires consistency in messaging and creative output.”

The TV advert goes live nationwide today with a 30 second film directed by Fiona McGee at Arts and Sciences. It begins with someone blowing their nose in a café as a barista turns into a Boots pharmacist to say, playfully: 'Looks like sinusitis.' As the advert continues, viewers are introduced to a runner with a rash that is treated by a pharmacist leaping from a bush, a woman with a UTI who finds help from a pharmacist popping out of her living room lamp and a couple on a first date in a restaurant who are given contraceptive advice from a pharmacist posing as a waitress. The advert closes with the tagline 'you’re never too far from a pharmacist' to highlight the accessibility of Boots stores nationwide.

The wider integrated, 360 campaign will also go live today across print, social, digital, instore and ADOOH, showcasing real time locations of pharmacist support. This campaign represents the first time Boots will use its own pharmacists in above the line materials. Outside TV, the advert has been adapted for audio through partnerships with Global Radio and Acast podcasts.

​Juliana Paracencio, executive creative director, The Pharm – VML, adds, “This impactful campaign marks a truly exciting direction for Boots. By showing pharmacists popping up in the most unexpected places, we’ve put entertainment front and centre. It brings a fresh, playful, and humorous perspective to healthcare, and does so across every channel. We’re really looking forward to continuing to have fun with Pharmacists Everywhere as we take the platform forwards.”

The integrated campaign has been developed in partnership with advertising and media agency - The Pharm and led by VML. The dedicated WPP partnership team also includes WPP Media, Hogarth and Ogilvy PR who have led on media, production and PR.

As the leading pharmacy chain in the UK, with over 4,900 pharmacists across the UK, Boots is uniquely placed to meet the urgent public need for accessible healthcare. With over 80% of the population living 10 minutes away from a Boots, healthcare expertise is increasingly more accessible on the high street.