Buckley’s is continuing its pivot away from using a pitchperson, and taking on chicken soup, the age-old cold remedy, in the process.

For its “No-Nonsense Relief” campaign, gone is the bald, bespectacled face of the brand, Stuart. He’s been replaced with a woman with a cold, and a voiceover intoning that the brand believes more in the restorative power of Buckley’s than the panacea that is hot soup.

Rob Gendron, VP and ECD at longtime agency partner Saatchi & Saatchi, says what remains the same is Buckley’s sense of humour and the sense of fun that is in many ways unique to the category, which has given it so much brand love and equity over the years.

Gendron tells strategy that although Stuart was a beloved figure, it was important to evolve the story. (In addition to Stuart, the brand is known for longtime eponymous spokesman Frank Buckley, going back to the 80s).

“People love the brand,” he says. “It has that cachet about it that’s hard to create.” Although it’s a new creative approach, Gendron stresses that the tone remains optimistic.

While old faces may be absent, the campaign work does revisit the longstanding tagline: “It tastes awful. And it works.”

“No-Nonsense Relief” is set to run until March across TV and social media. It is aimed at a broad audience, but hones in on the 30-plus set.

In 2019, the Haleon-owned brand came to market with a timeline of awful tastes to celebrate its centenary in Canada, showing people through different decades disgusted by the taste of the concoction.

“That was a moment in time…a special anniversary campaign meant to stand on its own,” Gendron says.

At the core of the current campaign lies a collection of three short videos imagined and developed by Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, part of Publicis Groupe in Canada. Publicis Media handled the buy.