Every once in a while, in a sea of ads (traditional and online) fighting for consumers’ fleeting attention spans, one stands out for all the good reasons. Just when the frenzy over the onslaught of advertisements in the form of tearjerkers exploring common tropes of romance and kilig for a sure viral hit quieted down, Vicks Philippines–known for their topical medicines across generations–launched an online ad that talked about a mother’s undying love.
Entitled, “Just A Boy”, from its #TouchOfCare campaign, the brand put the story of a mother, “Agnes”, to the forefront–caring for a child that, by chance, was left to her care. Treating and loving the boy as her own was a sacrifice she learned to accept, but the bigger battle is learning that the child is with HIV. And her fight is not just about securing the health of her son, but more importantly, shielding him from the judging and unforgiving eyes of people who do not understand the disease–what with the many misconceptions and the apparent and continuing “demonization” of people, including children, who live and were born with the virus.
By the end of the ad, the protagonist of the true story narrates, “Today he can be like other children. He didn’t choose to be born with it, but I’d like to think that whatever is in his blood is constantly overcome by my love for him.”
Vicks Philippines, in its ad, writes, “Everyone deserves the touch of care”. In it, the brand stands to end the pervading stigma, that sadly exists up to this day, about the disease. More importantly, it celebrates heroes like Agnes who have chosen to care for a child with HIV. As of press time, the ad has already collected over 3 million views on YouTube, with praise from those who have seen the video.
This isn’t the first time that Vicks Philippines has released a socially-relevant ad that served as inspiration and eye-opener to many. In 2018, the brand released a video, “Learning to Love”, also from its #TouchOfCare campaign that showcased the heartwarming narrative of the unexpected shift of a hoodlum in the slums who became a loving father to an abandoned child.
In fact, in India, the same brand has been praised for telling the story of a transgender mom and her daughter in an ad in 2017, eloquently sharing what love is.