The Pague Menos drugstore chain launches new campaign

In a world where most people seek information and guidance from the internet, even a second’s delay can cost a life when it comes to first aid. That's why Brazil’s Pague Menos drugstore chain (which owns the world's largest pharmaceutical retail channel on YouTube with 225,000 subscribers), is launching the unprecedented NO AD initiative, which removes ads from urgent health-related content.

The internet has made life easier for everyone in countless ways. One of them is to provide easy access to advice on how people can roll up their sleeves and deal with simple everyday issues. Checking out tutorials, videos, and guides on how to do things yourself has grown from a trend to almost instinctive behaviour in modern society. And this behaviour is repeated in situations of danger and emergency. However, there is a factor that directly interferes here: advertisements, those precious seconds before videos or content that might be crucial in emergency situations.

Consequently, Pague Menos is launching a movement that reinforces its commitment to improving access to healthcare for all Brazilians. In partnership with the Lew'Lara\TBWA ad agency, this drugstore chain launches the NO AD initiative, mapping situations that require urgent action, such as closed-chest heart massage, a Heimlich anti-choking manoeuvre, stroke identification, mouth-to-mouth respiration, and staunching bleeds, among others. It contacted content creators presenting these situations and proposed that they demonetise their videos, with Pague Menos agreeing to pay them a certain amount in exchange for their potential advertising income.

"Investing in advertising is vital, but it can sometimes be rethought for the sake of a greater good: people's health. Initially, resistance to this idea was strong, with many rejections, but it finally became a reality. Now, we want to invite other companies and industries in the sector, that also believe health comes first, to join this movement and help us save lives. In an emergency, every second counts, and this is beyond price,” says Renato Camargo, Vice President for Customers, Pague Menos and Extrafarma.

This brand successfully partnered with the Descomplica Enfermagem and Medical TV nursing insights and medical information channels, with 15 demonetized videos. They can be checked out on the official project page at the Sempre Bem healthcare portal.

"Why does NO AD get so much attention from people as soon as they know about the project? Because everyone identifies with this real insight. The idea was inspired by real-life behaviour that happens al he time today: in emergencies, many people look for first aid content on YouTube. But in this race against time, those five seconds of ad-time before the video can make so much difference. So the disruptive solution was to say ‘Yes’ to life and ‘No’ to advertising," says Rodrigo da Matta, Executive Creative Director at Lew'Lara\TBWA.