| Erectile
Dysfunction Ad Raises Stakes
January
26, 2004
NEW YORK - It's a first in an advertising
category that has been characterized by sexual
innuendo, insinuation and allusion: a new television
commercial for erectile
dysfunction drug Cialis debuting during
the Super Bowl actually states what condition
the medication treats.
Frankness was necessary to highlight what Cialis'
makers call a major advantage over its two competitors:
It lasts for up to 36 hours. Rival products
expire after roughly four hours.
Experts said the ad, which features smooth
jazz and nuzzling middle-aged couples, does
more than mark a change in the tenor of erectile
dysfunction advertising. It heralds the beginning
of multimillion dollar advertising war for dominance
in the nearly $2 billion drug category.
"This is going to be some battle,"
predicted Bert Hazlett, an analyst with SunTrust
Robinson Humphrey.
A new campaign for Levitra, marketed by GlaxoSmithKline
and Bayer AG, also will debut during the Super
Bowl, featuring its spokesman, former Chicago
Bears coach Mike Ditka. Pfizer Inc. refused
to discuss marketing plans for its drug, market
leader Viagra.
There are an estimated 30 million American
men over 40 suffering from erectile dysfunction,
with about a third who have sought treatment.
Doctors and analysts agree all the advertising
is likely to compel more men to visit the doctor,
though no one expects all of them to seek treatment.
Dubbed "Le Weekend" in France, Cialis'
marketing highlights that lasting up to 36
hours allows couples to bring the spontaneity
back into their love life, said Khoso Baluch,
business unit leader for the medication's team
at Eli Lilly & Co, which markets the drug
along with Icos Corp.
Baluch said drugs which last only four hours
exert performance pressure on men, who may already
suffer some anxiety because of the condition.
The ad begins with a shot of a couple lying
in side-by-side bath tubs overlooking a beautiful
vista with a voice over that says, "If
a relaxing moment turns into the right moment,
will you be ready?"
Teaser ads that named the product but didn't
mention erectile function began airing last
week. On Friday, ads are slated to appear in
magazines and newspapers. Baluch declined to
say how much would be spent on the campaign,
but said it would be competitive.
"We will take Viagra from its leadership
position," Baluch said.
That will be an extraordinary challenge, experts
contend, because Viagra
has a five-year history of safe and effective
use.
Still, Cialis is creating a unique market position.
Cialis
was approved two months ago, and its marketers
have been aggressively courting doctors, with
some apparent success.
According to drug research firm Impact Rx,
Cialis grabbed 40 percent of the new prescriptions
written by urologists for those never previously
treated for erectile dysfunction. Levitra grabbed
29 percent of those prescriptions while Viagra
captured 28 percent.
Cialis didn't fare as well among primary care
doctors, grabbing 28 percent of the prescriptions
compared to Viagra's 38 percent and Levitra's
34 percent. The disparity may be caused by specialists'
willingness to prescribe new medications earlier
than general practitioners, experts said.
But some doctors aren't sure a 36-hour effectiveness
period is an asset.
"Most 50-year old men can tell you the
day and time that they are going to have sex,"
said Dr. Andrew McCullough, director of male
sexual health and fertility at New York University
Medical Center. "We all like to think we
are going to have sex all the time but the reality
is that it doesn't happen."
Cialis' competitors, and doctors, point out
that the drugs' side effects as well as benefits
linger for a full day and a half.
"There is a disadvantage to a drug sticking
around in your system when you don't need it,"
said Dr. Nachum Katlowitz, direct of male infertility
and sexual dysfunction at Maimonides Medical
Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
All three impotency drugs interact with nitrates,
medications for chest pains. A man who took
Cialis would be prevented from taking a nitrate
for 36 hours while men using a rival drug would
have to wait only four hours.
Katlowitz said he might prescribe Cialis for
a healthy 42-year married man with children
because his age suggests he might have sex more
than once in a 36-hour period. But he wouldn't
prescribe Cialis for a 72-year old man with
a history of chest pains.
Viagra revenues rose 8 percent to $1.9 billion
last year.
Hazlett estimates that Viagra revenues won't
grow much between now and 2010 while Cialis
sales will hit $1.6 billion by then. Already
on the market in Europe and other markets, Cialis
posted $109.1 million in revenues from January-September
2003.
Hazlett believes Levitra will be the loser
in the three-way battle — with yearly
sales of $875 million by 2010 — because
it offers similar benefits to Viagra without
the market leader's history.
source:-http://story.news.yahoo.com
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