Everyone needs help

Site SPOTTED. Help: One of favorite new brands and websites. Help (official company name is Help Remedies), a pharmaceutical startup launched back in 2008, is fast becoming a branding case study. The idea behind Help is to simplify common medications with single-ingredient drugs in low doses, with casual, clear, symptomatic titles, such as “Help: I Have a Headache” (acetominophen) or “Help: I Have a Stuffy Nose” (phenylephrine). Help injects a large dose of humor into all its communications. “If you try to maintain a tone of science and seriousness, it’s really alienating,” says Nathan Frank, one of Help’s founders and its creative director. There are dozens of mock problems on their website, such as Help: I don’t know what fork to use; Help: I’m going bald; Help: I don’t know if I am gay; Help: I have ghosts; Help: I forgot someone’s name; Help: I am worried about my penis size or Help: I want my cat to be a cover model, each of which links to a clever, tongue-in-cheek solution. Kudos also for the minimalist white packaging featuring color-coded graphics that illustrate the sizes and shapes of the particular remedy inside. Deliberately offbeat marketing tactics including pop-up stores, performance windows and viral videos complete the brand strategy, mixing up straight-forward facts and benefits with endearing humor and silliness. Help products can be found in major pharmacy outlets, as well as Target and Walgreens with aggressive expansion plans on the horizon. Hopefully, we can rest assured that there will always be Help…