22 May 2017SpottedHow a plaster brand is healing more than just physical woundsSPOTTED: The insights behind the ads
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As the saying goes, ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’. And while in theory this is true, many parents would vouch for the fact that emotional pain can be just as debilitating and upsetting to children as the physical counterpart. In light of this, Hansaplast teamed up with FCB to create a series of plasters specifically for those emotional wounds that torment little ones. We discover the insights behind the ad, to understand how brands are adapting to ever-changing parenting methods.

Author
Hannah Callaghan

“Every parent knows how to heal physical wounds,” opens the spot, “but how do you fix a broken little heart?” Whether it’s a fear of the dark, a fight with a friend or getting caught out telling a lie, there are daily occurrences that can cause real distress to children. The product range entitled ‘Hearts’ was created with the intention of healing the ‘five primary heartaches that children aged two to six commonly experience’. Each instance of pain is accompanied by a plaster, which has its own story of another child who experienced the same pain, and how they overcame it.

Hansaplast is helping parents treat the emotional wounds of their little ones

Countless studies have indicated that emotional pain can be just as detrimental to our health as physical pain, with certain emotional circumstances activating similar brain regions that physical pain would, and occasionally requiring an elongated healing period. “In order to get over grief, resolve anger, and even embrace happiness, we have to really feel those things in the body,” says Alan Fogel, Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

But it’s only in recent years that society has become more empathetic towards how emotional trauma manifests physically, and acknowledging its effect on younger generations that are already feeling stressed and depressed. By running a campaign that encourages parents and kids to deal with their emotions – and places them at equal importance as physical pain – Hansaplast teaches both parents and children that these feelings aren’t out of the ordinary.

Hannah Callaghan is an account executive at Canvas8, which specialises in behavioural insights and consumer research. When she’s not helping clients navigate the deepest layers of the Canvas8 Library, she’s probably binge-watching RuPaul’s Drag Race or befriending other people’s dogs.