Heppos are the three cute hippopotamus mascots, A-RIX, B-RIX and AB-RIX that represent GSK's three vaccines for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and a combination vaccine for Hepatitis AB, namely, Havrix, Energix-B and Twinrix, respectively. Heppos are not just a cartoon or a drawing; they are people whom anyone would be happy to meet, in their real forms, in their lives. They are lively, adorable characters who provide vital information to help people protect their liver, life and their loved ones from two of the most prevalent causes of jaundice. "There was a clear need to establish that there are more than one kind of hepatitis," said Sumer Dheri, GM, GSK.

Developing characters was not an easy job because there have been innumerable ones before. To be able to stand out and yet be distinctively remembered for something to do with diseases like jaundice and hepatitis can be quite a challenge. So how did the creators come up with a character and still could humanise it enough to retain its creature like look and feel and enter the consumer's mind in a very subtle yet engaging manner without being frivolous? Rajiv Rai, Creative Head, Sorento Healthcare Communications, said, "Heppos is something that instantly brings to the mind, the Hippopotamus. The name had some connection, so we sat down to develop and humanise the characters." The end results yielded a yellow heppo for Hep A vaccine, a red heppo for Hep B vaccine, and a green heppo for the combination vaccine for Hep C.

The Heppos campaign was introduced across nine cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Coimbatore through mass media, outdoor campaigns and direct-to-consumer programmes. The company and the agency together avoided conventional TVCs and advertising because they wanted to connect to people on a regular basis across all touch points in their lives. GSK wanted to focus on the positive aspects of the vaccines and refrained from 'shock treatment'. "Vaccine is an area where people are supposed to take their own decisions regarding prevention from diseases, because it is not reactive but pro-active. People are supposed to go to the doctor and ask for a vaccine," says Dheri. He adds, "Hence, we need to go to them directly and tell them that these diseases are important and prevention is necessary." So, Heppos were put on hoardings, bus panels, newspapers and leaflets; and Heppo posters doctor's waiting areas. GSK created a radio programme called 'Radio Heppo' and life size Heppos sets at shopping malls. Heppo merchandise like Heppo T-shirts were designed and gifted to kids. To propagate vaccines to schools, GSK started the Power to Protect Programme, wherein the principals of different schools were made aware of the importance of the vaccines and were motivated to run the programme with the help of a paediatrician. Heppos never really needed any big Bollywood star to endorse them. They had become heroes in themselves and now they are the spokesperson for the brand.