Pharma ads suck. they're boring. or frightening. or stpid. or misleading. or not informative enough. or all of the above. almost always. why?
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Why Pharma ads suck. Still.
Last week I discussed the new doctor dominated XXX television ads. This week a new style emerged. The new sleeping aid Rozerem from Takeda decided that rather than use doctors, they would use new spokespeople.
Abraham Lincoln, a talking beaver, a backwards facing underwater diver in the old style suit represent Rozerem. Clearly this commercial does not fit into the meat and potatoes new style of doctor ad. It does not fit the old style either with no beach, no mountains, no skiers, sail boats or other active lifestyle scenes.
Is it effective? I do not have a clue. I assume it has been tested by Takeda and their agencies. I also assume that Takeda management must have had many debates about whether to let this ad run. I like Lincoln, have nothing against beavers, and admire the courage of undersea divers. That being said, I wonder if the use of these curious characters, will overpower the message. Rozerem has a unique mechanism of action and supposedly a better residual side effect profile. The risk of these ultra creative devices are that they may mask what are really good benefits of Rozerem.
One of the issues Takeda must face is that people will need to see this ad multiple times to overcome the confusion of the surreal scene. The insomniac is having a conversation with Lincoln and the beaver in his kitchen. The diver is standing backwards and says nothing. I had to watch this ad several times to digest what is being said. That is a risk since consumers are not likely to spend that much time trying to figure out what an ad is saying.
I do applaud Takeda and its agency for digging deep for creativity. It is very risky, however, to go so far creatively. The one thing I do know is that no one else will copy a talking beaver. I would expect this ad to generate some consumer word of mouth. Did you see that ad with Lincoln and the beaver? That may get some ad awareness. I just hope Takeda has a back-up campaign ready in case the odd creative obscures the message.
If this ad works, will we have George Washington talking up Viagra? Was Alexander the Great depressed? Did Napoleon have restless leg syndrome? The nice thing about dead historical figures is that they work cheap. I know to Takeda this ad is serious business, and I do not want to make light of their effort; but come on, when you create this type of ad I cannot resist. Good luck Takeda, for if this works you have created a new mold for DTC ads. Goodbye Dr. Jarvik, hello Dr. Hippocrates for Lipitor.
CLIENT NAME Withheld
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HADJI’S COUNTERPOINT
You know, ad industry creatives put a gun to their heads every time we get a project from a Pharma client. Why?
Because more so than any other category, pharmas have money to spend. They're willing to do big media buys. They're willing to do decent sized productions for TV shoots, print, radio, etc. And who can blame 'em. When it takes almost $11 Billion in some cases, to get a product from R&D to FDA approval (gotta grease those palms) to store shelves, why would you screw it up by pinching pennies on the marketing and advertising end?
Oftentimes what stifles a lot of creative is good ideas that end up being too expensive to produce.
But what kills pharma more so than any other brand, is the industry belief that only a testimonial and only a doctor talking it up is the sole way to sell a pharma product or build their brands.
Granted Pharma's unique in that we're not talking about "feel good" brands--emotional connectivity. Nobody buys Lipitor because all the hip kids are down with it. It either works or it doesn't. You believe the product's safe and reliable or you don't. After all, this is your health and your body we're talking about.
But there are plenty of creative ways to sell medical stuff and pharmaceuticals without the phrases, "9 out of 10 doctors/dentists/proctologists, etc. prefer..." or some dude in a lab coat surrounded by test tubes.
Like most clients, pharma's ride with what they're comfortable with. They know testimonials. They know happy patients. they know reports and research and results. So, that's why they demand to see from their agencies and their ad campaigns.
It was pulling teeth to get Bayer to do stuff with Tom Skerrit back in the day. That was a big stretch, but it was still the classic "authority figure delivering news" approach. Snore! (And they were my spots, my concept and i still say, "snore".) And when we pitched Tampax, of course you ended up with women chatting it up sipping coffee. When I worked on Ensure, same deal: Active older couples (testimonials).
Shoot me now. please.
Consumers by and large, aren't stupid; they're just easily bored and somewhat intimidated. Pharma's a boring and intimidating category, mainly because pharma folks make it so.
They have powerful information that’s life-altering and can be conveyed in all sorts of ways. Yet they take the safest, dullest, most middle of the road approach possible to conveying it. Pharma companies also do a poor job of educating folks about their brands and health in general. (For example: The low talking legalese at the end of every commercial scares the crap out of people. It makes you think you’re gonna die if you don’t use the product or if you misread a label.)
If it weren't for the humongous media buys they often do and the fact that people need some of what they sell or have been shook into believing they do, most would pharma companies would get an “F” as marketers.
It also makes you wonder how they were ever risqué enough and courageous enough to develop some of their products in the first place. After all, when's the last time taking the "safe route" ever cured something?
Great advertising is about taking important info and conveying it in a simple, memorable and ENTERTAINING fashion.
Think about your favorite brands over the years. Every commercial did that. Took a simple nugget, broke it down so that it related to your plight, then gave you some way to connect with it and be entertained by it.
Simply put: Just ‘cuz you're a doctor doesn't mean I have to tolerate crappy doctor ads.
So to your point of the hawking dead guys… Is this insomniac talking to Lincoln and dancing chickens or whatever the right route? I dunno. But I do know what it’s like to not be able to sleep at night. And if I think that you as a brand are feeling my plight, I’m liable to listen to you more than I would someone else. And if you can speak to me in an entertaining and intelligible way and offer some key information, then I'll take a shot what you're selling.
But if you wanna put me to sleep, just show me another 40 something white guy who's probably even not a doctor telling me what his charts and test tubes revealed after 20 years worth of research or some damn gray haired couple talking about how nice it is not be peeing on themselves right in the middle of their Sunday afternoon bike rides thanks to your drug and I'll be snoozing in no time.
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hadji williams is a 15 year vet of the ad world and author of KNOCK THE HUSTLE. Email him at your own peril: Hadji@knockthehustle.com
