# Comical Cough Ads Ricola's Cough Medicine Ads Show Sickness Getting in the Way By Laura McQuarrie | Published 2014-10-09 | Marketing Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cough-medicine-ad References: [adsoftheworld](http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/ricola_good) & [ricola](http://www.ricola.com/en-ch) This funny [cough medicine ad series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/soup-drops) for [Ricola](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ricola-capsule) shows just how easily the delivery of a message can be drastically altered by a pesky cough. The colorful print ads make statements like "You look good," "She's just a friend," and "We're having a baby," but these words are interrupted by coughs that change the meaning of phrases that are supposed to sound positive. When you have got a [cough or a sore throat](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/chews-cold-flu), sometimes it can be enough of a challenge to get any words out, but these Ricola ads note that when you're got a cough, you want to make sure that your good news sounds like good news, rather than something that you'd rather not say at all. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.6/10 - Popularity: 82% | Activity: 77% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Marketing](https://www.trendhunter.com/marketing) > [Print](https://www.trendhunter.com/print) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Humorous Advertising:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create comical ads that use humor to convey a message and engage viewers. - **Contextual Messaging:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop ads that play with the context of the messaging, creating unexpected and memorable moments. - **Narrative Interruptions:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Utilize interruptions in storytelling to create humorous and attention-grabbing ads. ### Who This Affects Most - **Pharmaceutical Advertising:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create innovative advertisements that break the traditional norms of pharmaceutical advertising. - **Marketing and Advertising:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore unconventional advertising techniques to captivate audiences and deliver a memorable brand message. - **Entertainment Industry:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Incorporate humor and unexpected elements into entertainment media to create engaging and shareable content. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Aromatic Winter Scarves](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ricola-capsule.md) - [Humorous Juice Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ribena-chin-up-campaign.md) - [Hard-To-Read Health Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/specsavers-campaign.md) - [Educational Cold Medication Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mucinex-flip-the-script.md) - [Clean Organic Lozenges](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sootheez.md) - [Mucus Mascot Dating Profiles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mucinex-no-regrets.md) - [Medication Delivery Partnership Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mucinex-and-doordash.md) - [Lazy Cereal Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/surreal-cereal.md) - [Sickness Survival Kits](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/man-cold-relief-kit.md)