Pack sales of Pepto-Bismol have more than quadrupled in the past year, following the launch of its Greasy Spoon TV ad, which introduced the brand’s “diarrhoea” jingle.
Value sales of Pepto-Bismol rocketed by 297.1% to £19.5m in the year to 16 May 2026, exclusive NIQ data shows. Meanwhile, pack sales of the gastrointestinal relief brand soared by 301.1% to 2.8 million over the period.
Pepto-Bismol owner P&G reintroduced the brand to the UK market last January, based on the insight that 60% of adults were experiencing gastrointestinal problems at least once a year [P&G survey of 3,071 adults, April 2024].
The relaunch was backed by a TV campaign, which depicts two electricians eating breakfast at a greasy spoon. When one of the workers starts experiencing digestive discomfort, five characters dressed in Pepto-Bismol hot pink appear, each singing about one of the five symptoms the medicine is claimed to relieve.
The TV ad aimed to get people talking but also “break the stigma around gastrointestinal issues – a subject often completely avoided in conversation,” said Sophie Spring, brand director for Pepto-Bismol.
Some shoppers used social media to express their appreciation of the advert.
“Diarrhoea Guy earnt every penny of whatever he was paid in that advert,” one viewer posted to Reddit. “He properly put his heart and his soul into that performance.”
Ash Ismail, senior insights analyst at NIQ, attributed Pepto-Bismol’s growth to a combination of “innovation, effective communication and strong distribution execution”.
Its performance demonstrated “how meaningful innovation and shopper education can create entirely new demand occasions rather than simply taking share from competitors”, Ismail added.
Pepto-Bismol is just one of many over-the-counter medicines for heartburn & indigestion to have grown unit sales in the past 12 months.
In fact, six of the top 10 brands – Gaviscon Double Action, Nexium Control, Pepto-Bismol, Pyrocalm Control, Rennie Deflatine and Galpharm – are in volume growth, according to NIQ.
Across the market, value sales of heartburn & indigestion medicines have risen by 7.5% to £267.7m, on pack sales up 4%.
One explanation for this could be the rise of weight-loss drugs. Nearly a third of GLP-1 users (31.9%) were found to have experienced gastrointestinal side effects after one year on the medication, according to an academic study published by Springer Nature last month.
Nausea, vomiting and gastroesophageal reflux disease – which causes heartburn – emerged as common complaints.
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