BuzzLaw
the law behind the brands behind the buzz

This is the story of how a dumb branding choice for anti-diarrhoea medication caused the proverbial to hit the fan.

Drug company Novartis are the makers of Maalox Total Relief, a potent liquid formula that provides relief from heartburn, indigestion, bloating and diarrhoea. It’s packaged in the purple bottle above.

By all accounts, MTR works well as an anti-diarrhoeal. Its active ingredient is bismuth subsalicylate – an aspirin-like, anti-inflammatory drug.

Bismuth subsalicylate can cause some severe side effects. People with gastrointestinal ulcers or blood clotting problems can suffer stomach bleeding, the drug negatively interacts with certain medications including blood thinning agents and aspirin and it can result in Reye’s Syndrome, a potentially fatal disease, if taken by children who are recovering from a virus such as chicken pox or the flu.

So, MTR is a powerful over-the-counter drug. But it’s not the only stomach fixer that contains bismuth subsalicylate. For example, Pepto-Bismol does too.

However …

Problem 1: Maalox Total Relief is the only Maalox product that contains subsalicylate. All the other Maalox products are straight antacids, pea shooters compared to MTR’s potential nuclear arsenal.

Problem 2: Not only does MTR carry the Maalox name, which consumers associate with gentle antacids, it is packaged in exactly the same manner as its milder cousins (take another look at the image above).

Problem 3: The Maalox antacid products say they relieve indigestion and heartburn. The MTR packaging also says that it relieves indigestion and heartburn.

Combine the 3 problems above and you have consumers assuming that Maalox Total Relief is simply another antacid in the Maalox range rather than a completely different drug.

The US Federal Drug Administration has stepped in after complaints of confusion and at least 5 cases of consumers suffering adverse effects from MTR. As a result, Novartis has agreed to change the name and packaging of Maalox Total Relief.

Consistency in branding is usually a good thing. Burning holes in people’s intestines is always a bad thing.

Tags: maalox, marketing fail, packaging