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Drug-makers making big impact at Super Bowl
January 29, 2004
PHILADELPHIA - It's understandable that Philadelphia
Eagles fans might have a hard time getting up
for the Super Bowl this Sunday.
Fortunately, there will be plenty of ads for
erectile-dysfunction
medications coming over the airwaves.
Two recently approved pills designed to help
guys score big in the bedroom will compete for
penis supremacy during Super Bowl XXXVIII between
the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots.
Newcomers Levitra and Cialis have each purchased
60 seconds of air time during the game, which
kicks off on CBS about 6:30 p.m. According to
Ad Age, industry leader Viagra will also keep
up with the Johnsons and purchase a 30-second
spot, purchasing a spot.
At roughly $2.3 million a pop for a 30-second
ad, drug-makers are expecting a lot of bang
for their buck. And with an estimated audience
of between 80 million and 90 million, including
50 million men - not to mention the pay-per-view
"Lingerie Bowl" at halftime - this
game might well be remembered as the Weenie
Bowl.
"Whenever you're talking about launching
a product or creating a buzz or getting the
biggest splash, you go to the Super Bowl,"
said Dana McClintock, spokesman for Viacom,
which owns CBS.
"And with that, the ads become part of
the public discourse of the game, and you get
the water-cooler effect."
Discussing "E.D." used to be taboo
on national TV or at the water cooler.
Then a few years ago, former U.S. Sen. Bob
Dole broke through with a series of plugs for
Viagra,
the Pfizer drug that was the first to receive
FDA approval in the United States six years
ago and controls roughly 80 percent of the market.
As a sign of loosening times, Dole even spoofed
his own ad the following year, while doing a
spot for Pepsi that featured pop star Britney
Spears gyrating like a lap dancer at a strip
club. At the end of the ad, the camera cut to
Dole, sitting in front of the television with
a golden retriever.
"Down, boy," he says.
This year, the competition is stiff.
CBS reportedly even turned down an ad from
the radical animal-rights group, PETA. It allegedly
argued that eating meat causes impotence.
Not surprisingly, the secrets of the competing
E.D. ads have been guarded more closely than
a Super Bowl playbook.
Pfizer officials did not return calls on Viagra
and the Super Bowl. But Dole confirmed in a
recent interview that he would not be back.
"It didn't come up," he quipped.
Still, corporate officials for both Levitra
and Cialis
on Thursday offered a few clues on what to expect.
Levitra, which claims a faster-acting time
and does not need to be taken on an empty stomach,
will air two spots - a 45-second ad followed
by a 15-second ad in the first half of the game.
Former Chicago Bears Super Bowl coach Mike
Ditka will return in the drug ads, whose mantra
has been "Get in the game."
Explained David Pernock, senior vice president
of GlaxoSmithKline, which makes the drug with
Bayer, "It's going to have a nice light-hearted,
humorous approach, high entertainment value.
"Something that breaks through the clutter,"
added Pernock, who promised the new spot would
be "Ditka with a twist."
As an NFL sponsor this year, Levitra had already
established a name among football fans - and
Eagles fans in particular.
Before each home game at Lincoln Financial
Field, players entered the stadium through a
giant, inflatable tunnel tattooed with the Levitra
logo, spurting out onto the field like so many
green-helmeted sperm. After the player introductions,
the tunnel swiftly deflated and was dragged
off the field.
"We want men to take the Levitra challenge,"
said Pernock, describing the second ad. "To
step up and talk to their doctor about it."
By contrast, Eli
Lilly-Icos, maker of Cialis, plan to take
a much more sober approach to introduce its
product, which just received U.S. approval in
November and claims effectiveness for up to
36 hours.
The company will air one, informational 60-second
ad in the second half voiced over couples snuggling
in the kitchen, at an espresso bar and watching
a sunset at the beach.
"Our ad will focus on a couple's intimate
relationship in a normal day-to-day setting,"
said Khoso Baluch, executive director of Eli
Lilly. "Our message is `pick the time that's
right for you.' "
"The Super Bowl to us is a beautiful place,"
he said. "Forty-five to 50 percent of our
target audience watch the Super Bowl."
But so far, only 13 percent of the 30 million
men who suffer from E.D. seek treatment. Drug-makers
believe exposure in the Super Bowl will make
the numbers rise.
"I believe the American public has made
quite a bit of progress from where we were five
or six years ago," said Baluch. "But
there's still a lot of room to grow. "
If the game turns out to be as boring as most
Super Bowls, even the ads could get ignored.
At halftime, people could well cough up $19.95
for the soft-porn Lingerie Bowl, which will
feature sexy models playing full contact football
in lacy bras and panties, an E.D. test unto
itself.
Of course, the Eagles would have been a much
more potent choice for the local men who plan
to watch the game - guys who are at the very
least suffering from depressed spirits.
But alas, the Birds suffered from the same
ailment that afflicted them in the two previous
NFC Championship games. One that all the little
blue, orange and yellow pills in the world can't
cure:
Performance anxiety.
source:-http://www.mercurynews.com
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