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Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant that brought us Viagra, recently embarked on an advertising campaign for the little blue pill that is quite different from anything the company has done in the past.
The drugmaker’s latest TV commerical for Viagra features only a woman and seems carefully crafted to remind men everywhere that their erection problems are a matter of concern not just to themselves but to their partners as well.
Complete Departure
The new advertising campaign, which debuted in late September 2014, is a complete departure from the approach taken in previous TV commercials for Viagra, all of which focused almost exclusively on rugged middle-aged men. If women appeared at all in the ads, they were always in the background. Most often, women were alluded to but not pictured at all.
Pfizer’s new advertising strategy begs the question: Why feature a woman in an ad for a product that can only be used by a man?
Well, the first and most obvious answer would seem to be that erectile dysfunction is a condition that affects not just men but also the women who are their intimate partners. When a man is unable to get and keep an erection strong enough for intercourse, his girlfriend, wife, or friend with benefits isn’t going to be getting much loving until the problem is successfully resolved.
Ad Campaign’s Message
The new commercial is the work of international advertising behemoth BBDO, which last year took over the Viagra ad from McGarryBowen. Of its new Viagra ad, John Osborn, BBDO president in New York, told AdAge.com: “This is an example of a very simple, straightforward story well told via an execution that I would say uses direct, honest, compassionate approach to simply let men with ED know they are not alone.” He added, “It was our belief that this approach would put men at ease.”
The new Viagra commercial showcases an attractive blond woman of middle age who is first seen lounging on a bed against a sultry tropical backdrop. Looking directly into the camera, she says in a charming English accent, “So guys, it’s just you and your honey. The setting is perfect. But then erectile dysfunction happens again.”
Breaks New Ground
The ad then breaks new ground once again, as the woman in the commercial goes on to say, “Plenty of guys have this issue — not just getting an erection but keeping it.” Heretofore, no Viagra ad has ever used the word “erection,” instead referring to the condition that makes it difficult to achieve one as “ED” or “erectile dysfunction.”
For those of a more cynical bent, Pfizer’s new advertising campaign could be just another clever ploy to wring as much profit from Viagra as possible in the few years that remain before the drugmaker’s patent expires in the United States, as it has already done in several other markets around the world. But that’s what advertising is all about, isn’t it?
Pfizer’s U.S. patent on Viagra doesn’t expire until April 2020, but under an agreement reached late in 2013 with Teva Pharmaceuticals, the latter will be permitted to begin making and marketing a generic version of Viagra in December 2017. For this privilege, Teva will pay Pfizer a royalty.
Competition from Generics
Viagra sales worldwide have dropped recently, reflecting the availability of generic sildenafil citrate — Viagra’s active ingredient — in several countries where Pfizer’s patent has expired. Such markets include much of the European Union, Canada, South Korea, and China. A Chinese drugmaker recently won approval to begin marketing a generic version of Viagra in the world’s most populous country.
Other observers see Pfizer’s new advertising approach as a way to extend its reach into a market that has never been fully tapped. Irwin Goldstein, M.D., director of San Diego’s Institute for Sexual Medicine, told AP that while half of all men over the age of 40 suffer from erection problems at least occasionally, only about 10 percent take impotence medications regularly.
For Goldstein, Pfizer’s decision to put a woman front and center in its latest Viagra commercials makes sense because impotence is often more upsetting to women than it is to the men who are their partners.
Many Don’t Seek Help
Goldstein said that many men are reluctant to seek help for their symptoms of erectile dysfunction because they feel uncomfortable discussing the matter with anyone, including their doctors. Pfizer executives are hoping its new ad campaign will prompt women with impotent partners to gently nudge those men to get help.
Although the new Viagra ad campaign debuted as a TV commercial, its theme and woman star will be prominently featured in print ads to run in such high-profile publications as “Time” and “Esquire.”
Viagra’s biggest competitor is Cialis, manufactured and marketed by Eli Lilly & Co. Unlike past Viagra ads focusing on men, Cialis commercials almost always feature couples, suggesting that they can put the zing back into their love life if the man takes Cialis to overcome ED symptoms. In a hopeful tone, the ads’ narrator points out that men’s erection problems “could be a question of blood flow.”
‘A Unique Strategy’
Asked to assess Pfizer’s new ad campaign for Viagra, Edward Jones healthcare analyst Ashtyn Evans told AP: “It’s definitely a unique strategy that could work. The more people they can get loyal to their brand, the better.”
Introduced in 1998, Viagra was the first of the so-called PDE5 inhibitors to hit the market. In the years since, other PDE5 inhibitors — Levitra, Cialis, Staxyn, and Stendra — have made their debut.
Although each of these drugs differs slightly from the others in chemical structure, they all work in much the same way. They get their name from their ability to temporarily block the effects of an enzyme known as phosphodiesterase-5. The PDE5 enzyme can compromise erectile function by breaking down one of the chemicals that is needed to dilate blood vessels and thus facilitate strong blood flow to the penis.
Order from eDrugstore
If you’re suffering from symptoms of erectile dysfunction and would like to order one of the impotence drugs that belong to the family of PDE5 inhibitors, you can do so from the convenience of your home by visiting eDrugstore.com.
eDrugstore, a member of the Secure Medical family of online drugstores, is based in Tempe, Arizona, and sells only drugs that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. All drugs sold by eDrugstore are sourced from U.S. licensed pharmacies.
If you already have a prescription from your doctor, you can fax or scan and email it to eDrugstore along with your order. If you don’t have a prescription and feel uncomfortable discussing impotence with your doctor, eDrugstore can set up an online consultation for you with one of its contract physicians.
Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of nutrition and health-related topics.
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