Mascots—they’re the unsung heroes of the sporting world, bringing energy and excitement to every game. But what happens when the physical demands of the job take their toll?
Tylenol, a brand known for pain relief, tackles this overlooked aspect in their “Greatness Hurts” campaign. Crafted by creative agency Doner, the campaign turns the camera away from players on the field to focus on the performers who keep crowds entertained through rain, shine, and double overtime.
The ad, which aired during playoff games on major networks like Fox, CBS, and NBC, including the Super Bowl pre-show, will also stream on platforms like Hulu, Max, Peacock, and Paramount+ through February 15.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the campaign.
The Details:
- The :15 “Greatness Hurts: Mascot” was an all-around high performer for Tylenol, outpacing OTC pharma advertising norms (past year) in nearly every performance area:
- The newest spot placed in the 93rd percentile in Relevance among gen pop American viewers, with above-average resonance seen across age/gender.
- Viewers found a good balance between the brand (rated Single Best Thing about the ad at a disproportionately high rate for the category), the message and the product itself, with an above-norm 90% recalling the Tylenol brand (unaided).
- While not overly Informative, the creative achieved strong breakthrough (Attention and Likeability) and successfully persuaded 58% to be more/much more likely to consider Tylenol after a single view (+11 pts over the average OTC ad).
- The newest spot placed in the 93rd percentile in Relevance among gen pop American viewers, with above-average resonance seen across age/gender.
- 56% of viewer sentiment on the ad was positive (less than 8% leaned negative), with the mascot angle feeling unique or creative to many (reflected in high Change scores):
- Viewer comments also pointed to the easy relatability of the quick but entertaining spot which delivered the main message authentically but in an unexpected manner.
- The early and clear brand identification was also appreciated by the audience and allowed them to relate very quickly to the situational messaging, even if not sports fans.
- Viewer comments also pointed to the easy relatability of the quick but entertaining spot which delivered the main message authentically but in an unexpected manner.
Sample comments on “Mascot” :15
“I liked how it made you think it was a player but it was the mascot. But it also goes both ways…Player or mascot, Tylenol helps with all the pain.”
Female 50+
“I found the mascot idea very entertaining. As an older person whose knees hurt when I hike, I found this ad relatable.”
Female 36-49
“I like how short yet meaningful the advertisement was. It didn’t have a lot of dialogue.”
Male 21-35
“I didn’t learn anything new about Tylenol. But I enjoyed the surprise that what I thought was a football player turned out to be a mascot.”
Male 50+
“The brand was forefront in the beginning while also being displayed with visuals that were bright and relatable.”
Female 21-35
“No matter who you are, Tylenol can get rid of your headache.”
Male 36-49
“It’s a cool ad. Being a mascot is very demanding. It adds a clever twist to a tired theme.”
Female 36-49
- In fact, “Mascot” ranks as the second best-received ad within the OTC category over the past year, and outpaced in grabbing early (and maintaining high) engagement (as seen on second-by-second trace results):
- The mascot twist also delivered increased engagement, reflected in viewer comments on the spot as well.
- “Mascot” has delivered just under 69% of brand Impressions (405.6M) on national linear since launch (through 1/22/25), with CBS delivering a high-quality audience for Tylenol:
- While overall the ad is achieving Interruption Rates below the category norm (helped by the short length and high engagement quality) as evidenced by an overall average Attention Index of 137, networks with higher than norm Interruption Rates (in-market Attention Indices below 100) include TNT, HGTV, and CNN.
- There is opportunity for the brand to shift support to higher-performing networks/shows/dayparts to optimize Spend against the creative.
- While overall the ad is achieving Interruption Rates below the category norm (helped by the short length and high engagement quality) as evidenced by an overall average Attention Index of 137, networks with higher than norm Interruption Rates (in-market Attention Indices below 100) include TNT, HGTV, and CNN.
- Overall, “Mascot” ranks as the fourth most resonant Tylenol ad of the past two years (and third strongest in the “Greatness Hurts” campaign):
- However, “Mascot” sparked the strongest intent of the “Greatness Hurts” spots tested since early 2023.
Advertisers need to identify the creative that will drive business outcomes and ensure that in-market execution aligns against the highest potential ads.
Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.
Creative Agency: Doner