Prestige Consumer Healthcare is moving from heartburn to nausea, using a recognizable mascot in a campaign for a pair of new products.

The campaign shows “Gavin,” the blue animated star of the spots, comes to life and over-eats – consuming cupcakes, sushi, burgers and fries – resulting in him ambling slowly and gripping his stomach. In another spot, Gavin gets motion sickness after riding the family dog, a toy car and a ceiling fan. In both cases, Gavin gets relief when he manages to finally reach a package of Gaviscon. Fuse Create developed the creative for the campaign.

Gastrointestinal products currently only represent 18% of Prestige Consumer Healthcare’s overall portfolio, meaning there is a lot of room to grow, but that will mean taking share away from Church & Dwight’s Gravol.

Steve Miller, ECD at Fuse Create, says the goal of the campaign was to do that by building off the equity Gaviscon has developed by being known for efficacy when it comes to heartburn.

“They’ve been saying, ‘Gaviscon and it’s gone’ for years,” Miller says. “I think they’re positioned in the market; I think the perceived value of the brand allows them to certainly feel like they have a lot of equity around efficacy and what Gaviscon can do for someone’s heartburn. Time will tell whether it’s the same for nausea.”

Gaviscon being the number one heartburn and indigestion antacid brand worldwide, and the fact it has been around for more than 50 years, lends itself to the brand’s equity, Miller notes. The blue man mascot started off as an actual man dressed in blue, up until a few years ago, when it evolved to the animated “Gavin” seen today, which will help the new product keep some of the brand’s recognition.

One challenge, though, is making the distinction clear between two new SKUs – regular Gaviscon Nausea and Gaviscon Nausea ginger – to ensure they are being communicated for the right usage, Miller notes.

That’s why, in the campaign, the ginger version is explicity shown as a remedy for nausea caused by over-eating, due to the herb’s traditional benefits in aiding digestion and saliva flow. For regular Gaviscon Nausea, it focused on broader symptoms associated with nausea, such as motion sickness, vomiting and dizziness.

The Gaviscon nausea campaign is running on national TV with a media buy handled by UM.