How do Nurofen make more money? They create a different pack for every pain you could feel, of course.

From “targeted” back pain to period pain, there’s a box of pills waiting for you.

However, if you had to stand back and think about this, you would realise that it’s quite impossible to engineer a pill to travel directly to the place where you feel pain.

Basically, targeting pain is bullshit. If you take a pill for pain it’s going to affect your whole body.

Now, because of this, a Nurofen advert in the UK has been banned for telling customers that their pills can specifically target back pain. There were 18 complaints after the advert aired in April. Huffpost explains more:

After considering the complaints and Nurofen manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser’s response, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the advert was “misleading” and banned it from appearing again.

The advert, which has now been banned, showed a woman with back pain who took Nurofen Joint And Back.

After taking the product, an anatomical image showed the painkiller moving down her body and targeting her back, while on-screen text said: “Also indicated for other aches and pains.”

The woman then went about daily life, minus the discomfort. Meanwhile an anatomical image of her back showed the Nurofen symbol indicating where the pain relief was acting.

The voice-over then claimed: “Just a single dose of Nurofen Joint And Back provides you with constant targeted pain relief for up to 8 hours.”

Reckitt Benckiser’s complaint was just as poor as the advert itself:

In response to the complaints, Reckitt Benckiser said the main objective of the advert was “to communicate that Nurofen Joint And Back provided pain relief for backache”.

They said that while the ad showed an example of the pain that Nurofen Joint And Back could be used to treat, it did not state or imply that the product specifically targeted back pain.

They believed the images accurately reflected the absorption and distribution method of the product and avoided any impression that the product immediately and specifically targeted back pain.