The archive · Brand & Identity · Marketing decision · 2023–2025
Advil's Pain Equity Project funds the fix for pain bias it documented
Advil turned its own research into action: medical-school courses, patient tools and stories that help Black patients in pain be believed.
Advil (Haleon)
What it had to solve
Decades of false beliefs that Black people feel less pain have left a documented gap in American healthcare: in Advil's national study with Morehouse School of Medicine, 83% of Black respondents said they had had a negative experience seeking help for pain, and three in four believed bias shapes how pain is diagnosed and treated. Advil — a brand whose whole category is pain relief — decided to act on what it found.
How it works
Research has long documented that Black patients' pain is taken less seriously in American healthcare, and Advil's own study with Morehouse School of Medicine quantified the experience: among 2,000 respondents, 83% of Black individuals reported a negative experience seeking help for pain, three in four believed bias affects diagnosis and treatment, and 93% said pain affects their daily lives. A brand that sells pain relief sat directly on top of that contradiction.
Advil's answer was to build infrastructure, not just awareness. The Pain Equity Project channelled grants to Morehouse and BLKHLTH to develop a medical-school course on pain equity, created patient resources at BelieveMyPain.com, and launched 'Believe My Pain' — a storytelling campaign built around a digital roundtable hosted by Elaine Welteroth with emergency physician and author Dr. Uché Blackstock, plus patients who had lived through dismissive care.
The campaign treated the research as the centrepiece: rather than lecturing, it gave audiences the evidence and the language. Testing found 76% agreed Advil addresses pain bias at the source and 68% of Black consumers felt better equipped to discuss pain with their provider; nearly 1,000 healthcare professionals received continuing-education credit through the project's course work. In 2025 the effort was named a Grand Effie contender in the US, alongside campaigns from Dove, L'Oréal and Miller Lite.
Why it lands
- Advil's category gave it standing: a pain-relief brand documenting why some people's pain is ignored converts its own authority into credibility no NGO partner could buy.
- It funded the systemic fix — medical-school curriculum and CME — instead of stopping at a film, so the campaign outlasts its own media run.
- Patient stories were paired with measurement: roundtables, microsite tools and earned media were built to change behaviour, and the numbers were published.
- The partners did the work with the affected community and experts in the field, which kept a corporate campaign from speaking over the people it claimed to serve.
What it did
The campaign generated over 565 million earned impressions, and testing showed 76% of consumers agreed Advil addresses pain bias at the source, 62% said it improved their understanding of pain inequity and 68% felt better equipped to discuss pain with a provider. Nearly 1,000 healthcare professionals earned CME credit, and Black consumer purchase intent and trust each rose nine points; in 2025 the project became a Grand Effie contender in the US.
What you can take
A brand's credibility is a licence to act, not just talk: when your category owns the problem's territory, publish evidence, fund the fix, give affected people tools — then measure change.
Since then
The project continued beyond its 2023 launch: the Pain Equity Course began at Morehouse School of Medicine and was planned to expand, resources stayed live at BelieveMyPain.com, and Advil kept the platform running through Pain Awareness Month activity and further storytelling. At the 2025 Effie Awards US, 'The Advil Pain Equity Project | Believe My Pain' was among the Grand Effie contenders — recognition that effectiveness judged not just reach but measurable change in how pain is discussed, taught and treated.
Sources
- Advil launches Pain Equity Project
- The Advil Pain Equity Project — Shorty Impact Awards
- The Field Museum's 'Blood Appétite' Wins Grand Effie at the 2025 Effie Awards US
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