Nobody takes the word literally literally anymore. It's a bit of a shame, right?
We can't just say a hyperbolic statement about our feelings anymore without someone judging us for saying it. No longer are we allowed to complain, now we must suffer in silence.
No more.
With this print, experiential, and video campaign, Vicks is putting their foot down and telling people to express what they're feeling and how they're feeling it.
Hearing it is one thing,
feeling it is another.
Introducing: Complain-BOT
Complain-BOT’s primary function is in the name: she is here to listen to the complaints of the citizens of the world.
Well, primarily people complaining about being sick, because that’s a reasonable conversation for Complain-BOT to handle.
Here’s how it’ll all work:
Complain-BOT will be setup outside of a pharmacy.
Across the street, Complain-BOT’s controllers and the voice actress will be hidden. The actress will be able to hear and see everything that Complain-Bot hears and sees. Inspiration for the voice and tone of Complain-BOT comes from comedian and host of the show Nailed It!, Nicole Byer.
She’s Siri with sass and compassion.
While this is happening outside the pharmacy, there will be a videography team recording the entire event. From the voice actress breaking character to the comebacks from the audience, it will all be recorded, and edited for either a single web video or even a web series.
Here are some examples of Complain-BOT’s dialogue:
When someone walks up to her without saying anything:
“(In robot voice) HELLO. I AM COMPLAIN-BOT. HOW MAY I -
Ha ha ha! Oh, just kidding! Robots don’t sound like that anymore.
Hi, how’s it going?”
Some suggested responses to people’s complaints:
“Oh my gosh, that’s literally the worse!”
or
“Literally sounds like the worst day! I hope it gets better! They say that time heals all wounds, but, I mean, look at the Grand Canyon, that’s just one big wound that’s continued to get larger over centuries!”
For when someone asks something like, “what do you do?”
“It’s in my name: if you want to complain about something, come complain to me. I’m all ears!
Well, circuits and sensors are kind of like ears right?”
or
“Humans are pretty bad at handling complaints. They usually just get annoyed when other people are doing it. But we all need to complain every once in a while. We’re not all 1930s Alaskan Lumberjacks, so, come on, out with it! What tiny, insignificant problem is bugging you today?”
Art Director: Ciara Reed
This was for a creative ad class at VCU in 2019*