Covid-19 has raised a major societal issue on health disparities in America. In many diseases, minority populations suffer more and get less treatment. This is not a new finding, but Covid-19 along with the Black Lives Matter protests on discrimination have given rise to new possibilities of addressing health disparities.Is this the time that health […]
Hmm, Aflac or Chantix. Duck or Turkey. What a feast! I have written about the Chantix Turkey when it launched. I liked it then and like it now. I said then that I did not see the use of the turkey as a long term campaign. Apologies to Pfizer and their agency VMLY&R. They have […]
Sometimes an Rx Drug is also competing with many OTC alternatives. In that case, their DTC ad frequently is more OTC-like than most typical DTC ads. Xiidra is a perfect example of the near OTC ad. It treats dry eye and is the only FDA approved treatment specifically indicated for the signs and symptoms of […]
One of the most timely and fascinating areas of DTC will be for flu this year. Usually flu advertising is limited in timing and spending. This upcoming season, when America will be dealing with Covid-19 and the flu concurrently, flu advertising has some new opportunities and challenges.As we hear regularly from Dr. Fauci, the combination […]
Those of us who remember the emergence of HIV in the early 1980s are awed by the progress in fighting the disease. There have been many drugs to treat HIV, but recently the category introduced prophylactic drugs to be taken if there is risk of exposure. Gilead has been a leader in HIV treatments and […]
It is rare to find a big budget DTC campaign that does not use TV as a part of the total plan. Saxenda, a weight loss drug from Novo Nordisk is one brand that excludes TV. There are several interesting things about this campaign.First is the amount spent on print with no TV. According to […]
The opium overdose antidote Narcan (naloxone) is a very interesting DTC case. Naloxone is widely used by EMTs and first responders to counteract opioid overdoses. States have recently made Narcan from ADAPT Pharma available to the general public to use on those in the home who overdosed. Narcan is a branded nasal spray version of […]
I like ads that are clear and get to the point. Ubrelvy, a new migraine drug from Allergan, now part of AbbVie, does clarity well. In what I would call a near OTC ad, Ubrelvy intro only took 45 seconds to tell its story. It is positioned as “The Anytime Anywhere Medicine”. That is an OTC like […]
It is interesting when you contrast the regulations for benefit claims for prescription drugs and OTC supplements. We all know the unproven health claims made for most supplement brands. They often have a tiny super on screen that says these claims have not been evaluated by FDA. Contrast that with prescription drugs which are regulated […]
One of the benefits of DTC advertising is making it easier to talk to the doctor about conditions patients may find embarrassing. Viagra was a pioneer in talking about erectile dysfunction (ED). This created an opportunity for many men to deal with what was often a condition not treated. Since ED could be indicative of […]
