TheraBreath lets Aussies dob in their bad-breath mates

TheraBreath is inviting Australians to nominate the person in their life with bad breath, as part of a new campaign from social-led creative agency Kill Boring Dead (KBD). The ‘P.S. Your Breath Stinks’ platform turns an awkward conversation into an opt-in brand activation.

READ MORE: Kill Boring Dead launches creator-led TikTok campaign for Cathay Pacific

READ MORE: Kill Boring Dead taps Bastion's Nel Wolf as General Manager

Consumers can nominate a friend, colleague or loved one to receive a surprise “fresh breath assist” from the oral care brand. The campaign is the biggest piece of work KBD and TheraBreath have delivered together to date.

How ‘P.S. Your Breath Stinks’ works

The campaign centres on a microsite and SMS journey, supported by creator content, PR packages, social engagement and an activation at Melbourne Central. TheraBreath will send 500 giveaway boxes to nominees, while formal letters and sample packs are available for those who miss out.

Rosie Brown, Head of Strategy, Kill Boring Dead, said the idea came from the awkwardness of telling someone they have bad breath.

“We're really, really proud of this campaign. The whole idea is built off the human truth that it's so awkward to tell someone their breath stinks. Even though it's the nice, the right, and the best thing to do, no one wants to do it because we don't want to upset someone. So, we thought we'd just ask TheraBreath to do it for us.”

The campaign brings together strategy, creative, creator content, digital, PR, fulfilment and the consumer nomination mechanic. KBD said the work reflects a move away from traditional social content pillars towards a single idea designed to travel across multiple channels.

Creators put the idea into action

The launch began with a bad-breath prank featuring TikTok duo Kaitlin & Josh. It has since expanded into influencer seeding, TikTok and Instagram content, organic community engagement and two giveaways.

Those giveaways include a year’s supply of garlic bread and a year’s supply of Segafredo coffee. The campaign is also designed to make creator content feel native to the platforms where it appears, rather than relying on conventional product-led posts.

Ainslee Baruhas, Head of Client Partnerships and Influencer Lead, Kill Boring Dead, said the prank deliberately avoided overt branding.

“There's no product shot, no brand mention, nothing that screams 'buy this product.' Just a funny bit that feels completely native to who Kaitlin & Josh are, while still nailing the exact idea at the heart of the campaign.”

TheraBreath targets a social taboo

Rather than positioning TheraBreath solely as a clinical solution, the campaign places the brand inside a familiar social situation. It is targeting Australian adults aged 18+, with a focus on socially active Gen Z and millennial consumers.

Alison Tyssen-Hall, Senior Brand Manager – Oral Health, Church & Dwight, said the campaign was designed to make an uncomfortable topic harder to avoid.

“The opportunity for us was to take something people generally avoid talking about and make it impossible to ignore. Bad breath is a very real, very human problem, but conversations around it can be awkward. ‘P.S. Your Breath Stinks’ gives people a fun way to start that conversation, while putting TheraBreath in the middle of a genuinely useful and memorable experience.”

The campaign launched in early August. Nominations can be submitted via psyourbreathstinks.com.