Dive Brief:
- Mr. Mucus, the ill-mannered Mucinex mascot, has landed on dating app Tinder to promote the brand’s Mucinex Nightshift over-the-counter product, according to a press release.
- Unwitting Tinder users swiping through profiles on the app may stumble across an “ick-inducing” one for Mr. Mucus that features lame pick-up lines and a selection of photos that lean on tired male dating tropes (yes, he’s holding a fish in one).
- The “No Regrets” campaign, which runs through December, is timed to “cuffing season” for casual dating. The effort also includes a partnership with Kamie Crawford that will see the TV host and model go on a blind date with Mr. Mucus.
Dive Insight:
Reckitt-owned Mucinex is setting its mascot — a sentient, scummy blob of snot that relishes spreading the flu — loose on Tinder to raise awareness for Mucinex Nightshift. The campaign is timed to the start of both cold and flu season and cuffing season, a period when young people seek short-term relationships as they hunker down for the winter months. The idea underpinning the campaign is that consumers should make good decisions at night that they won’t regret in the morning, advice that can apply equally to taking cold medicine when under the weather and pursuing a romantic fling.
Mr. Mucus’ profile appears as a swipeable ad on Tinder that emulates a real-deal account, albeit a particularly bad one. Pictures show the long-time brand character holding a fish, sweating at the club and getting a pump on at the gym with no shirt on. One picture appears to be a badly cropped photo of Mr. Mucus with a female mucus companion (he has had a wife in past campaigns). Pick-up lines include, “I’m the catch of the day… if you like catching cold and flu symptoms!”
Mr. Mucus is also being paired with Mucinex spokesperson Crawford, who will go on a blind date with the mascot to see if he measures up in real life. Crawford is a former co-host on “Catfish: The TV Show,” a series premised around misleading online dating profiles. Consumers can track the dating saga on the Instagram and TikTok accounts for @MrMucusOfficial and @KamieCrawford.
Mucinex PR agency of record Legend is behind the mobile-first marketing push for Mucinex Nightshift. Nightshift is the first over-the-counter nighttime cold and flu medicine in the U.S. that is made with triprolidine HCL, a sedating antihistamine.
Other brands are leaning into the cuffing season phenomenon to bolster their appeal with Gen Z and millennial consumers who carry a love-hate relationship with dating apps. Frito-Lay’s Flamin’ Hot brand of spicy chips recently released a custom burner phone that played on the idea of pursuing an affair for the occasion.
