We went to a place where colds are unavoidable – the airport. Using a large, interactive, digital display, travelers came face-to-face with a live Mr. Mucus, the nemesis for the cold and flu brand Mucinex. He proved just how annoying a cold can be. And made Mucinex top-of-mind for people who want to keep their colds at bay.

We partnered with the visual effects company Psyop to create first-of-its-kind, real-time, motion capture technology. Over a three-month period, with hundreds of hours of coding, Psyop outfitted a custom suit worn by the voice of Mr. Mucus, comedian T.J. Miller. T.J. had a direct, visual feed to the airport terminal giving him a first person viewpoint to interact with and gross out travelers. All while hidden cameras captured people’s grossed out reactions.

People don’t engage with the cold & flu category unless they are sick (90% purchase when they are sick, with only 10% buying products just in case). Yet top-of-mind awareness is what drives purchase.

But what is engaging for our consumers is our brand icon, Mr. Mucus. Past research shows over 85% of U.S. consumers recognize the character and 80% link him to the Mucinex brand. He represents the misery sickness brings to you life, and is cast as the antagonist in almost all our communications.

The brief was simple: force people to think about being sick during the final peak of the season (February) to ensure the brand was top-of-mind.