Zicam Breaks Out the Achy Cold Monster

Ad critter targets moms in their mid-30s

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What better way to personify the threat of a scary cold than a monster?

That’s the reasoning behind a new campaign for cold remedy Zicam that breaks Oct. 8 as the cold season kicks off. The effort, Zicam’s first from new agency Grok, centers around a character called—not surprisingly—the Cold Monster.

This ad critter is green and hairy with a running nose, bloodshot eyes and crooked teeth. Icky? Yes, but also somewhat relatable.

In fact, rather than create the character through computer-generated imagery, New York’s Grok creative chiefs Tod Seisser and Steve Landsberg opted for an intricate costume, which was handcrafted by Legacy Effects.

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