View source for Advil

{{Short description|American brand of ibuprofen}}
{{For|the primary active ingredient of most Advil|Ibuprofen}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox brand|name=Advil|type=[[Medication]]|currentowner=[[Haleon]]|introduced=1984|image=File:Advil_Pills_(48609832971).jpg|caption=A version of Advil [[tablet (pharmacy)|tablets]]|website={{Official URL}}}}

'''Advil''' is a brand of [[pain reliever|pain-relieving]] medication, currently owned by [[Haleon]]. The primary active ingredient in most Advil-branded products is [[ibuprofen]], a [[non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug|nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug]].<ref name=britannica>Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. [https://www.britannica.com/science/ibuprofen "ibuprofen."] ''Encyclopedia Britannica''.</ref> Advil has been called a "megabrand" because it offers various "products for a wide range of pain, head cold, and sleep problems."<ref name="insights">McQueen, Josh (2012). ''Building Brand Trust: Discovering the Advertising Insights Behind Great Brands''. Xlibris Corporation. p. 292. {{ISBN|9781477105023}}.</ref>

==History==
[[File:Haleon.svg|thumb|The current owner of Advil]]
The brand first entered the American market in 1984 through [[Whitehall-Robins|Whitehall]]<ref name=cases>{{cite book | title=Pharmaceutical Marketing: Strategy and Cases | publisher=CRC Press | author=Smith, Mickey C. | year=1991 | pages=319 | isbn=9781439810910}}</ref> (itself a division of [[Wyeth]], which was purchased by [[Pfizer]] in 2009),<ref name="nature">Sheridan, C. "Pfizer swallows Wyeth, validates niche buster." ''Nat Biotechnol'' '''27''', 218–219 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0309-218.</ref> the same year [[ibuprofen]] gained [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) approval for [[over-the-counter]] (OTC) sales in the United States (being available via prescription since 1974).<ref name="nineteen Eighty-Four">{{cite news | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1984/06/04/236552.html?zoom=14.96 | title=Scramble Over Pain Relievers | work=The New York Times | date=June 4, 1984 | author=Hollie, Pamela G. | page=D1}}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-ledger/172056852/ Full-page advertisement], ''[[Columbus Ledger]]'', November 25, 1984, p. 195.</ref> Pfizer and [[GlaxoSmithKline]] (GSK) combined their consumer healthcare departments into a dual venture in mid-2019; in 2022, this joint venture was spun-off into the newly conceived [[Haleon]].<ref name="royal">{{cite web | url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/haleon-emerges-from-gsk-consumer-healthcare-spin-off/4015962.article | title=Haleon emerges from GSK consumer healthcare spin-off | publisher=RSC Publishing | work=Royal Society of Chemistry | date=July 18, 2022 | author=King, Anthony}}</ref> In early 2025, Pfizer sold its entire stake in Haleon for over three billion dollars.<ref name="reuters">{{cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-sells-entire-haleon-stake-324-billion-2025-03-19/ | title=Pfizer sells entire Haleon stake for $3.24 billion | publisher=Thomson Reuters | work=Reuters | date=March 19, 2025 | author=Staff}}</ref>

Advil and a competing OTC ibuprofen brand, [[Nuprin]], were first announced to the public on May 18, 1984, the same day that the FDA approved OTC sales of ibuprofen. Within a week of the announcement, Advil was available for purchase at some stores.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kalamazoo-gazette/172056945/ "Upjohn drug gets FDA OK"], ''[[Kalamazoo Gazette]]'', May 19, 1984, front page.</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-news/172057308/ Advertisement], ''[[Courier News]]'', May 26, 1984, p. 4.</ref> Within ten years of having a market presence, it outsold [[Bayer Aspirin]] and was a fierce competitor to [[Tylenol]] (primarily a brand of [[acetaminophen]]).<ref name="excellence">{{cite book | title=Icons of the American Marketplace: Consumer Brand Excellence | publisher=American Benchmark Press | year=2007 | pages=8 | isbn=9780307383457}}</ref> In the mid-1990s, for example, it held 13% of the multibillion-dollar over-the-counter American market for [[analgesics]].<ref name="ibuprofen">{{cite book | title=Ibuprofen: A Critical Bibliographic Review | publisher=CRC Press | author=Rainsford, Kim D. | year=2003 | pages=424 | isbn=9780203362587}}</ref>

==Varieties==
[[File:ADVIL.jpg|thumb|One variety of Advil]]
In 2024, there were 23 varieties of Advil available on the U.S. market including:<ref name="fda">{{cite book | title=Approved Drug Products With Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (Orange Book) | publisher=Food and Drug Administration | year=2024 | edition=44}}</ref>

*Advil
*Advil Liqui-Gels
*Advil Migraine Liqui-Gels
*Infant's Advil
*Pediatric Advil
*Junior Strength Advil
*Children's Advil
*Flavored Children's Advil
*Advil Dual Action With Acetaminophen ([[Ibuprofen/acetaminophen#Brand names|Ibuprofen/acetaminophen]])
*Advil PM (with [[Diphenhydramine#Sleep|Diphenhydramine]])
*Advil Cold And Sinus (with [[Pseudoephedrine#Brand names|Pseudoephedrine]])
*Advil Congestion Relief (with [[Phenylephrine]])
*Advil Allergy Sinus (with [[Chlorpheniramine]] and Pseudoephedrine)
*Advil Allergy And Congestion Relief (with Chlorpheniramine and Phenylephrine)
*Advil Multi-Symptom Cold & Flu (with Chlorpheniramine and Phenylephrine)
*Children's Advil Cold (with Pseudoephedrine)
*Children's Advil Allergy Sinus (with Chlorpheniramine and Pseudoephedrine)

==Marketing==
[[File:Frozen Fenway - Advil Advertising (cropped).jpg|thumb|An Advil advertisement at a major sports stadium in 2013]]
Marketing campaigns for the brand (some including celebrities like [[Regis Philbin]]) have pushed slogans such as "Take Action. Take Advil." and have been presented under the premise of "True Advil Stories";<ref name="philbin">{{cite book | title=Are Your Prescriptions Killing You?: How to Prevent Dangerous Interactions, Avoid Deadly Side Effects, and Be Healthier with Fewer Drugs | publisher=Simon and Schuster | author=Neel Jr., Armon B. & Hogan, Bill | year=2013 | pages=105 | isbn=9781451608403}}</ref> the brand has also been involved in sponsorship deals such as with [[Major League Pickleball]].<ref name="pickleball">{{cite news | url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/06/25/major-league-pickleball-advil-sponsor | title=Major League Pickleball adds Advil as sponsor | work=Sports Business Journal | date=June 5, 2024 | author=Schaefer, Rob}}</ref> In late 2024, Haleon, "the parent company of brands like Advil, Tums, Centrum and Sensodyne[,] announced that it is the official consumer healthcare product partner of U.S. Soccer."<ref name="mm+m">{{cite web | url=https://www.mmm-online.com/news/haleon-scores-big-with-u-s-soccer-partnership/ | title=Haleon scores big with US Soccer partnership | publisher=Haymarket Media, Inc. | work=Medical Marketing and Media | date=December 11, 2024 | author=Rikhraj, Heerea}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.advil.com/}}

[[Category:Drug brand names]]
[[Category:Analgesics]]
[[Category:Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1984]]