Dive Brief:

• Bayer constipation relief brand MiraLAX enlisted comedic duo Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, of "Broad City,” as part of a new campaign around the high frequency of stress and constipation faced by millennial women, per a press release.
• "The Gut Gap" campaign refers to a brand-commissioned survey that found women to be more than twice as likely as men to be pooping less than three times a week, with stress a possible contributing factor to constipation. The survey found 85% of millennial women are regularly stressed, with 9 in 10 saying stress impacts their gut health.
• The campaign features content co-written and co-created by Jacobson and Glazer and will run across digital, social and broadcast channels. The humorous approach was inspired by a finding where nearly half of surveyed women cited laughter as a way to reduce stress. 

Dive Insight:

MiraLAX is looking to engage with millennial women by enlisting two voices of their generation in Jacobson and Glazer, who created and starred in "Broad City" on Comedy Central in the 2010s. The anything-goes, oft-raunchy tone of the sitcom is well-suited for a campaign that encourages a dialogue around gut health.

“Constipation is no laughing matter, but our approach to exposing The Gut Gap and the reality of how stress leaves women feeling metaphorically and physically backed up is bound to evoke a few laughs,” said Dana Valentino, marketing director for digestive health at Bayer Consumer Health. “With our new campaign featuring Abbi and Ilana at the helm, we’re hoping to engage women in a national conversation about the root causes of constipation and offer some much-needed comedic relief.”

In a three-minute video, Jacobson and Glazer sit down for their "quarterly Jewish food feast," but Jacobson is unable to eat due to constipation, spurring dialogue that embraces the awkward humor and sideways feminism of "Broad City." A reference to compression socks being for "old people" ties into the campaign's aim to get millennials engaged around gut health as older members of the cohort are now in their 40s. Along with writing the content for the campaign, MiraLAX expects Jacobson and Glazer to give the effort a "national platform."

“When MiraLAX approached us to connect our special gift to the conversation around women's stress, we knew we could get the job done,” Glazer said in the press release.

"Broad City" began as a web series in 2009 before spawning a series on Comedy Central that ran from 2014 to 2019. The acclaimed series, basically a "Sex and the City" update for stoners, spoke to many issues faced by millennials, making it a fitting pairing for the MiraLAX campaign. Glazer last year starred in a Miller Lite campaign around Women’s History Month, while the pair previously was featured in an Amazon Super Bowl ad.

“Reuniting with Ilana to write and film the campaign ads has certainly brought lots of laughter to us, and we hope they resonate with women everywhere and ultimately help spark a movement, pun intended,” Jacobson said in the press release.