The Nasonex bee, voiced by Antonio Banderas, was a popular fellow last year. The animated 30-second spot, bested the Rozerum beaver and Chantix's turtle and hare as the most recalled new pharma television ad of 2007, according to IAG Research.

What is most surprising is that of the top five ads, three of the drugs are currently under fire in the media. Chantix has been 

In addition, the Nasonex ad team switched gears in 2008 and is taking a completely different approach to marketing the allergy medication. In the new spots the consumer-friendly cartoon animation has been removed in favor of slice of life advertising.

"There are cutbacks in the amount of mass media spend that is happening in national TV, so we have seen the volume of advertising begin to decline," said Fariba Zamaniyan, senior vice president of healthcare at IAG Research. "It will be interesting to see as the weeks move on, how Nasonex will do."

Zamaniyan also notes that Crestor is back on air and they have reverted back to a more conservative approach in execution with physician presence. They are no longer using a celebrity and prominence of a jiggle. All the things that made it a break through campaign back in the day.

"At the end of the day, if you are going to launch an ad campaign, those conservative approaches might not always be the best approach when it comes to making break-through advertising," Zamaniyan told 

 on Tuesday. "If an ad does breaks through it then becomes the duty of the pharmaceutical companies to fall within guidelines and make sure that the intended audience is being persuaded to take action."

Case in point: Rozerem. New versions of the controversial ad series still have a unique copy and creative that makes them memorable with television viewers. However, the drug has yet to dig itself out of third place amongst sleep aids. The number two drug in the insomnia category, Sepracor's Lunesta is tied for seven on the recalled ad list and Ambien is nowhere in sight.

"[The Rozerem ad] was memorable, but once it came to persuading action, it comes down to whether patients get the prescription when they ask the doctor," Zamaniyan said. "There's a big bridge to cross when it comes to advertising handing the baton over to the action that happens in the physician's office."

For a detailed look at the top 10 list and a description of the television spots visit 

Articles

News Analysis

IAG Research released its top-10 list of most-recalled new pharma ads of 2007. Many familiar faces top the list, including the Nasonex bee, Abe Lincoln, and Dr. Jarvik, but how many of those faces will still be there next year?

Nasonex: Most-Recalled TV Spot of 2007

Electronic-media agency Avenue A|Razorfish released on Monday the results of its fourth annual digital-outlook report for all vertical markets. While pharma is making strides to boost its Web presence, the industry has a long way to go.


According to the report, consumer media consumption continues to fragment, and buying only endemic inventory to reach target consumers is becoming an increasingly less effective use of the digital channel. In 2005, health content led advertising spend online. But both community/social sites and entertainment have now dethroned health as king of online ad dollars.

"Pharma marketers must be increasingly creative with how they engage their target consumers," said Brian M. Krick, director of search marketing at Avenue A. "The standard approach of buying all the content for whatever indication was on the table is getting less effective in terms of how to blanket a consumer."

Community, social, and user-generated content is not a fad and continues to grow. Forrester Research recently reported that one in five consumers are using social computing as the sole means of gaining knowledge about their health conditions, according to Krick. The highest share belonged to consumers looking at mood disorders besides depression (37 percent), followed by insomnia and skin disorders.

"We're not talking about people who have insomnia and happen to have a Facebook page," Krick told 

. "These are people who are using social networking to treat their conditions."


Put up against other vertical industries, pharma is getting trounced by e-retailers with or without a brick-and-mortar component. Companies that reside in the digital channel are looking at ways to impact the user experience because they can immediately realize results of changes in their media plan on the bottom line, Krick said.

The travel industry also caught up and eclipsed pharma in recent months. Progressive travel companies that have fully engaged the Web are leading the pack.


As return on investment becomes more important in a recession, digital will continue to hold strong—not just online, but in the new digitized traditional media as well.

For example, Novartis used mobile technology to push its high-blood-pressure treatment Diovan. Novartis placed placards in waiting rooms that encouraged patients to text a SMS short code to a number on the card for health information. Within seconds, patients received a list of questions to ask their doctor during the examination.

"In the United States, folks are not nearly as prepared to investigate real medical conditions on their cell phones," Krick said. "

 and eMarketer.com looked at the 99 larger brand sites in pharma and found that there is only one with a mobile platform. Pharma is not moving onto the mobile platform really quickly, but that might not be what consumers are looking for."

Avenue A|Razorfish's new digital-outlook report indicates that pharma is still floundering online. Though some pharma companies are taking steps to make their online presence known, others are still crawling.

Pharma Still Taking Baby Steps on the Web

Pfizer decided on Monday to cut its losses and voluntarily withdrew its television campaign for Lipitor featuring Dr. Robert Jarvik, the inventor of the mechanical heart.

Thus ends weeks of public nitpicking about whether Jarvik should have been the spokesperson for the cholesterol-lowering medication, even though he is not a practicing medical physician. The campaign got even more criticism when it came to light that the doctor used a stunt double in a scene that shows him rowing a boat.

"The way in which we presented Dr. Jarvik in these ads has, unfortunately, led to misimpressions and distractions from our primary goal of encouraging patient and physician dialogue on the leading cause of death in the world—cardiovascular disease," Pfizer's President of Worldwide Pharmaceutical Operations Ian Read stated in a 

. "We regret this. Going forward, we commit to ensuring there is greater clarity in our advertising regarding the presentation of spokespeople."

The television ad also got the attention of Congress, which sent a letter to Pfizer expressing trepidation about the ad. "We are concerned that consumers may misinterpret the health claims of a prescription drug promoted in a direct-to consumer advertisement utilizing a celebrity physician," stated the letter from the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. "We are also concerned that Dr. Jarvik's qualifications may be misinterpreted in this advertisement campaign given that he may not be a practicing physician with a valid license in any state."


Some in pharma, however, feel that Pfizer might have jumped the gun by firing a spokesperson that has done a lot of good for the drug. Just this week, IAG Research 

 that the television spot was the fourth-most-recalled new pharma ad of 2007.

"The irony of it is that Pfizer executed and implemented techniques that every other advertiser uses in the marketplace today—it's basic principles of building unique copy in the effort of building brand awareness for Lipitor," said Fariba Zamaniyan, senior vice president of healthcare at IAG Research. "They did so through the use of Dr. Jarvik. And the multiple creatives that had very consistent creative synergy that built this campaign."

Pfizer made it clear that the advertisement was used strictly to raise awareness of the dangers of cardiovascular disease in the United States and that no laws were broken. At this point, no one has accused the drug company of false advertising.

"I always thought it was a good, effective campaign. In the last commercial I saw, he was presented as Dr. Jarvik, a guy who was involved in the invention of the artificial heart," said author Mel Sokotch, a veteran marketer for Foote Cone & Belding and Grey Advertising. "It never says that he is a practicing doctor or that he recommends the medicine to others. To me, it's a basic celebrity testimonial, no more or less."

"Jarvik was one of the truly great spokespeople for a product," said Mark Stevens, president of marketing firm MSCO. "He was picked for his face. He wasn't picked for his music, and he wasn't picked for how attractive he is. He was picked for his knowledge of a particular organ of which he knows more than anyone else on the planet."

Under pressure from Congress and public scrutiny, Pfizer voluntarily pulled its controversial television campaign for Lipitor featuring Dr. Jarvik.

Pharmaceutical Executive-02-27-2008

Nasonex: Most-Recalled TV Spot of 2007

Pharma Still Taking Baby Steps on the Web

Jarvik Ads Get KO'd