Super Bowl Ads Highlight Missed Opportunity For PhRMA
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @RfwrightLSL
By Rob Wright
Like 108+ million other people, I watched the 2013 Super Bowl, which has grown into a spectacle of sport and marketing — broadcast live in more than 180 countries, in more than 30 different languages. Despite a 34-minute power outage which interrupted this year’s game, the 2013 Super Bowl was the 3rd most watched broadcast in TV history, behind the 2012 (1st) and 2011 (2nd) Super Bowls. For these reasons, companies are willing to spend big bucks on 30-second spots which cost around $4 million – a 90% increase from a decade ago. Watching this year’s event, I made sure to pay attention to the commercials, as the Super Bowl has become a competition among advertisers to see who can come up with the most memorable one. Those who make the most of their investment, producing memorable commercials that resonate with the public, are likely to earn a permanent spot in history (e.g. Apple’s ‘1984’ commercial during the 1984 Super Bowl introducing the world to the Macintosh computer). A few commercials got my attention, making me realize how the pharmaceutical industry, once again, missed the opportunity to restore its broken image.
Devalued And Distrusted
John LaMattina, a 30-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry and former president of Pfizer’s Global R&D Division, recently sent me a copy of his book, Devalued and Distrusted. In the book, he highlights some of the negative perceptions which the industry has allowed to promulgate the American public. In my opinion, it is partially the result of misguided marketing activities on the part of pharma, of which I wrote a commentary which was published 10 years ago in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Marketing & Management. The other contributor is a failure on the part of the industry to adequately defend itself against attacks, so eloquently described by LaMattina who shares his personal experience of appearing on the Dr. Oz Show. Though I know John LaMattina is not a fan of drug company TV advertising (an issue he and I recently discussed over lunch), I believe the opposite.
A Missed Opportunity For Nuva Ring
When I worked for Organon Pharmaceuticals, I interviewed for a field medical marketing liaison position. During my interview at the home office with the Nuva Ring (prescription female contraceptive) marketing team, which I recall as being 100% male at the time, I pitched the idea of not just doing a TV commercial for the product, but to do so during the Super Bowl. This was met with guffaws, with the brand manager saying, “I don’t think that is our target audience.” But my pitch wasn’t just the ad, but the buzz which would be the result after the event, pointing out to the group that because the product was so different, I believed it quite conceivable that various media outlets would be discussing the commercial for days, if not weeks after the game. In addition, though the Super Bowl is still predominantly viewed by men (54% compared to 46% women, a gap that has been continuing to narrow), I also suggested the brand manager ask women around the office if they watched the Super Bowl and why. I was willing to guess that a majority would have said “yes,” and “for the commercials.” It would be several years before Organon would take the TV advertising plunge, and in my opinion, why it took so long for the product to catch on. Just imagine if Organon had placed a Nuva Ring spot during the 2004 Super Bowl, right before the Lilly’ Cialis commercial and the infamous Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction.” It makes you wonder, if Organon would still be around today?
Is It Time For PhRMA To Go Prime Time?
During this year’s Super Bowl, I am sure we all laughed out loud at the Best Buy and Oreo commercials. But the ones that truly moved us, ranked 1st and 2nd respectively by the Associated Press, were Oprah Winfrey’s salute to U.S. troops Jeep commercial, and the Ram Trucks Paul Harvey salute to farmers ad. I believe it is possible for the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America, PhRMA, to duplicate this success with a similar approach — highlighting its efforts with charities, research foundations, and medical institutions, and the resulting benefit to so many people. Member companies of PhRMA spent $49.5 billion in 2011 discovering and developing new medicines, and about $2.4 billion in TV advertising. Though LaMattina thinks maybe it’s time for drug companies to drop TV ads, I think it’s time the industry do a better job of touting its good deeds. The companies have the money, and the Super Bowl, TV, and PhRMA are the perfect combination and place to start.