Sure, drug companies, doctors and other men can tell those with erectile
dysfunction that they're not alone. But do they listen more closely when they
hear it from a woman?
That's what Pfizer's aiming to find out with a new Viagra commercial featuring an attractive blond on the beach. "So guys, it's
just you and your honey. The setting is perfect. But then erectile dysfunction
happens again," she says. "You know what? Plenty of guys have this
issue, not just getting an erection, but keeping it."
Following more than a decade of Viagra campaigns starring men, the pharma
giant made the switch to help put men with ED "at ease," Pfizer
spokesman Steve Danehy told FiercePharmaMarketing in an email. It's a
"new and unexpected approach to de-stigmatize ED" that the company
hopes will reassure men and motivate them to speak with their doctors.
For Pfizer, it's not a bad time for a new approach to DTC marketing. In
addition to Eli Lilly's blockbuster Cialis, Viagra counterfeits and a slew of
generic rivals in Europe, it now has fast-acting Stendra to compete with.
That pill, which Auxilium markets in the U.S. under a deal with maker
Vivus, won FDA backing a couple weeks ago as a speedy treatment taken just 15
minutes before sex, as opposed to the 30 minutes its directions initially
prescribed. By contrast, Pfizer advises men to take Viagra one to two hours
beforehand.
But as far as the new marketing angle, Pfizer isn't shooting in the dark.
This August, the company asked 300 men to indicate whether certain TV concepts
for Viagra would make them want to ask their doctors to prescribe the little
blue pill. When it came to the female-focused ad, between 55% and 62% of men
strongly agreed or somewhat agreed, Danehy said.
- watch the commercial