For decades, consumers have turned to Icy Hot to relieve their aches and pains. And, in 2022, the brand took it to the next level by introducing Icy Hot PRO: a product strong enough to provide pain relief to more physically active consumers and even professional athletes. We set out to introduce Icy Hot’s product innovation in a way befitting of news this big. Our goals were to introduce new spokes-athletes to increase brand awareness and, of course, sell a whole bunch of Icy Hot PRO.
For decades, consumers have turned to Icy Hot to relieve their aches and pains. But in 2022, the brand took it to the next level by introducing Icy Hot PRO: a product strong enough to provide pain relief to more physically active consumers and even professional athletes.
To launch Icy Hot PRO, we brought in four star athletes: soccer star Rose Lavelle, Las Vegas tight end Darren Waller, tennis champion Sloane Stephens, and, of course, long term brand ambassador Shaquille O’Neal. We transported these athletes to a world of ice and heat to create the iciest, hottest, and most badass pain relief demo in the history of pain relief demos.
In an instant, these standout athletes made Icy Hot PRO culturally relevant and brought it to the top of mind for sports fans across the country. Which is saying something when you’re talking about a topical pain relief brand.
Creating the worlds of ice and heat required meticulous visual effects work. We shot our athletes in large warehouses with minimal set design—artificial snow in the ice world and desert sand in the heat world. In post production, we painstakingly crafted glaciers, an ice floor, swirling wind, Arizona-style red rocks, and even a fiery tennis ball projectile.
One of the most important visual elements of the campaign is the ice and heat effects we see on the athletes’ bodies. Shaq applies the product and his arm ices over, triggering the transition to the world of ice. As the spot gains momentum, we see a heat effect on Darren Waller’s arm, which, in turn, triggers the transition to the heat world. These FX were designed to dramatize the user experience. A sure fire way to stay in the game in an increasingly crowded pain relief category.
Our campaign resulted in a dramatic increase in brand awareness. Visits to the Icy Hot’s website increased by 61.5% and we exceeded our sales goal by over 25%! Teaming up Rose Lavelle, Darren Waller, and Sloane Stephens with our long-standing brand ambassador, Shaquille O’Neil, resulted in the brand’s most successful new product launch ever.
PR Activations were also highly impactful. For example, Darren Waller’s Post Game Recovery Program garnered 1B impressions and grabbed headlines in publications like People, US Weekly, and Page Six.
