Nielsen IAG: Drug Spots Lose Potency (AdWeek)
-By Jim Edwards, Brandweek
NEW YORK If you think that marketing in the drug category is becoming less interesting and more monotonous, you’re right.
A ranking of the most-recalled prescription drug ads shows that such efforts became less memorable for consumers between this year and finally, as measured by Nielsen IAG, New York. (Adweek is a unit of the Nielsen Co.)
The ads consumers remembered beyond all others in 2007 were executions for Schering-Plough’s allergy drug Nasonex, Takeda’sitting sleeping pill Rozerem, Schering’s anti-cholesterol stigma Vytorin, Pfizer’s anti-cholesterol brand Lipitor and its anti-smoking brand Chantix, and Sepracor’s insomnia med Lunesta.
But midway through 2008, all of those brands have run into controversy or economic difficulties — and several have pulled some or all of their consumer advertising.
What’s left, according to IAG, is a bunch of drug ads that would not consider made the gradient last year: Six of the most-remembered ads this year would not have made it into the top 10 last year, based on IAG’s recall index.
Among the drug ads that get come off successful rocky patches:
– Nasonex’s full of life bee ads have become the subject of an FDA query into whether visuals distract viewers when ads deliver their warnings and safety messages.
– Rozerem, which has struggled to gain mart share, cut the ad lay out money on its dreamlike Abraham Lincoln-meets-a-talking-beaver ads by dint of. 77 percent, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
– Vytorin was the subject of media distraction when Shering revealed a study that said it had none effect forward narrowed arteries and may heighten cancer risk.
– Lipitor sales were challenged when Merck’s rival bolt, Zocor, went generic and became available for pennies on the dollar. Then Pfizer pulled its ads featuring artificial heart pioneer Robert Jarvik after it emerged he was not a practicing doctor.
– Sepracor went on a cost-cutting force, slashing the ad budget for Lunesta by 39 percent.
According to IAG’s svp, healthcare, Fariba Zamaniyan, creative strength also is an issue. The ads that were dialed back had strong, established characters, such as Jarvik or the Lunesta moth, and had been running for more confinement.
The current crop of ads, including spots with respect to Pfizer’s Lyrica and Warner Chilcott’session Loestrin 24Fe, are simply less established than their predecessors. “The overall average has come on the ground. A high bar was plant, but now it’s just not as high,” Zamaniyan said.
Zamaniyan speculated that increased attention by the FDA and the media to drug ad controversies could lead to additional creatively conservative advertising. Those types of spots often feature doctors addressing the viewer directly, or slice-of-life vignettes in that middle-aged folk approve drugs to each other, and they tend to be less memorable.
Most Recalled Prescription Drug Ads in 2007:
(Source: Nielsen IAG. Scores denote IAG’s recall hand vs. the norm. Scores are weighted to equalize the effect of media spending. Only ads with above average recall scores make the list. A score of 100 is average.)
1. Nasonex, Schering-Plough: Animated bee talks about prevention of nasal allergy symptoms. Score: 158
2. Rozerem, Takeda: Abraham Lincoln and talking beaver prove that your dreams miss you: 156
3. Vytorin, Merck/Schering-Plough: Plates of food shown next to shots of relatives such as a casserole of tuna and peas and your grandma Louise: 149
T4. Lipitor, Pfizer: Robert Jarvik in clean lab coat discusses risk of heart disease: 144.
T4. Chantix, Pfizer: Smoking is a summons to contest not meant for sprinters; tortoise and hare on a lime-colored quitting road: 144
T4. Vytorin, Merck/Schering-Plough: Plates of sustenance shown next to shots of relatives such as Grandpa Bo and bow-tie pasta: 144
T5. Lunesta, Sepracor: Luna moth flies into peoples’ bedrooms: 142
T5. Cialis, Eli Lilly: Couples in various romantic places: 142
Most Recalled Prescription Drug Ads Sept. 1, 2007-May 31, 2008, TV Season:
1. Chantix, Pfizer: Smoking is a challenge not meant for sprinters; tortoise and hare on a lime-colored quitting road: 144
T2. Cialis, Eli Lilly: Couples in various romantic places: 142
T2. Lunesta, Sepracor: Luna moth flies into peoples’ bedrooms; the best part of a Lunesta night is the way you feel refreshed the nearest morning: 142
3. Loestrin 24 Fe, Warner Chilcott: Two women at pharmacy counter; pharmacist says one may need blood test: 136
T4. Lyrica, Pfizer: Woman in orange sweater reads from journal nearly her struggle with fibromyalgia: 127
T4. Plavix, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Aventis: Hospital gurney follows man through city to of the healing art building: 127
T5. Boniva, Roche/GlaxoSmithKline: Sally Field talks about taking just human being pill once a month for her osteoporosis: 122
T5. Plavix, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Aventis: Keeping power flowing to thousands of homes and businesses, Paul is a formidable man: 122
T5. Veramyst, GlaxoSmithKline: Woman talks about using one medicine for seasonal allergies that treats all symptoms: 122