Sleep-Eze has launched a new masterbrand campaign, presenting a whimsical world of morning possibilities post-good night sleep.

Developed by Fuse Create, “Get the Sleep You’ve Been Dreaming Of” features a man who wakes up to a purply Lewis Carroll-like setting of puffy clouds, a sunny day, an ice cream truck and a fictional Morning Newspaper featuring the headline “what a day!”

It quickly becomes clear, though, that the man is in fact dreaming of how nice it would be to wake up well-rested, thanks to surreal, dream-like elements, like seeing himself driving the ice cream truck or to finding himself suddenly holding a duck.

The brand team and agency observed that there are a lot of similarities in the ways that companies visualize and talk about sleep, says Patrick Kane, senior marketing director with Sleep-Eze parent company Prestige Consumer Healthcare.

“We were excited by the idea of being a little unconventional in a category where images of people sleeping tends to be the dominant visual,” Kane says. “The notion of the morning being the benefit – waking up to the sun rather than waking up to darkness – and feeling energized, that was a new insight and one we all rallied behind.”

https://youtu.be/IecA2IJEaRg

According to Kane, a good night’s sleep lays the foundation for the next day and that the brand was confident that the provocativeness of the story would engage people and drive purchase intent of the OTC sleep aid among adults 35 to 55.

While not quite a positioning evolution, Kane says the creative does help solidify Sleep-Eze as the brand that helps to deliver the possibilities that result from a good night’s sleep, a much more emotionally evocative proposition that gives the brand wider latitude in its marketing.

“That whimsy does a great deal to open the mind to what is possible,” Kane adds.

Kane tells strategy COVID-19 has caused real disruption to established routines, upending the sleep patterns of many adults, which is likely driving an overall increase in sales in the sleep-aid category.

According to Kane, it’s been fans of long-form content as it tends to be the best format for storytelling, and with this spot, he feels there’s a wonderful story to tell, so TV made the most sense. Fuse Create began working with the brand in early 2019.

The bilingual spot is running across TV and online video until the end of March. Media buying for the campaign was handled by UM Canada.