296. BREACOL with XYLOPOL: Stops Cough Faster…Fastest! Print Ads 1957-1969

BREACOL WITH XYLOPOL, 1960 Ad

One of the leading cough medicines that enjoyed nationwide success in the 1950s  is BREACOL with XYLOPOL. It was a product of Sterling Drug, an American global pharmaceutical company before it merged with Winthrop-Stearns,Inc. It had performed exceedingly well in Latin American countries, and so, when it was time for BREACOL to be rolled out in Asia, the company chose to launch it in the Philippines in the mid 1950s, and later, in Singapore 

BREACOL, 1957 Ad

BREACOL with XYLOPOL claims to stop cough faster, in 5 ways: it destroys germs, soothes irritation, stops throat tickle, loosens phlegm and medicates deeply. Later, the “ideal cough remedy for the whole family”. In the days before the ad industry had a regulatory board, BREACOL even went for the superlative, by claiming that it “Stops Coughs Fastest”. 

BREACOL, 1958, 1959 "HIS 'n HERS" Ads

The first BREACOL ads had copy that were direct lifts from foreign ads, and had clip-art illustrations of foreign-looking models. For better appeal, spot color (Red) was added to the prints ads. Photography was rarely used.  For over a decade, BREACOL was a leading presence in the cough market, challenged by Vick Chemical Company, which was already I the market at just about the same time with its Vicks Cough Drops. In time, Vicks Cough Syrup was introduced as well, which was heavily pushed in print and the rising radio medium. 

IDEAL FAMILY COUGH REMEDY AD, 1960

BREACOL could not simply compete with the resources of Vicks (marketing giant Procter and Gamble took over it) as the latter cornered the cough and cold market with such products as Vaporub, Inhaler, cold tablet, and nasal drops.

STOPS COUGH FASTEST! 1961 BREACOL AD

After several years,  XYLOPOL seemed like old news. In 1969 BREACOL reformulated and rebranded itself as DEXTRO-BREACOL with DXM, in reference to the Dextromethorpan which suppresses the signals in the brain that trigger cough reflex. It was hardly a unique ingredient, as most cough syrups were also dextropmethorpan and guaifenesin-based. 

DEXTRO-BREACOL REFORMULATED, 1969

Still, BREACOL plodded on, supported by core loyalists who remember the 50s brand fondly. Happily the brand name is still around today, through the Singapore-based  Invida, a specialty pharma company formed by a joint venture between Quintiles, Temasek and Zuellig. Invida commercializes  different pharmaceutical products of superior quality and markets them worldwide. Invida counts BREACOL as one such proven brand.

SOURCE:

Sterling Drug: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_Drug