We worked on the imaginaries associated with health and EmergenC. We wanted to challenge the index, or factual nature of the EmergenC packaging. EmergenC is frequently used as a cure all, despite little evidence to support its impossibly vague claims. We discussed as a group how the actual truth of the matter is that EmergenC doesn’t do anything for the body, let alone the immune system, despite the “Immune+” plastered on the front. Because we couldn’t see a feasible way to make the product “healthier” besides just playing down the negative effects of vitamin overload, and the product was effective in communicating the message of being health positive, we decided to put an ironic spin on things and consider how far we could stretch the dubious health effects of this kind of branding. Our first idea centered around changing the branding to something negative, like emphasizing the C in EmergenC as standing for colds, but we realized this wasn’t effective, and switched tracks. Other sources of inspiration were other sources of vitamin C, possibly getting away from the use of oranges in their marketing. Other foods that are high in vitamin C include green chili peppers, mustard, kale, and broccoli, all of which have a much less fun energy and are harder to market as easy to eat and feel better. The third and final option we settled on was a twist on preventative measures; delving fully into the snake oil aspect and changing to a face mask designed to streamline the process of cold prevention even more, so instead of drinking the vitamin C supplement you breathe it in with a cute orange face mask. “By Em Blank”
Joel Neely, Daniela Delgado, Eliza Pratt, Micheal Powell, Christine Chen, Emma blank