Category16_revGOLD AWARD
AbelsonTaylor and Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Kapidex (now Dexilant)

Judges loved AbelsonTaylor’s launch ads for Kapidex, the first proton pump inhibitor designed to provide two separate releases of medication for acid reflux disease. The ads show a large metal stomach with one stream of factory workers entering it and one stream exiting it. Copy reads: “Kapidex works a second shift to help shut down acid pumps.”

“Beautifully executed and brilliantly articulated,” commented one judge. “A quick read on the product benefit.”

AbelsonTaylor explained that the stomach factory depicting two shifts is a metaphor. “The factory image is both industrial and high-tech, which strongly conveys the Kapidex brand personality,” the agency added. “As a hardworking and industrious treatment, Kapidex employs a dual-delayed release formulation to provide a second release of drug, which is represented by the two separate shifts of workers.”

Objectives were to build brand awareness, differentiate Kapidex and reinforce the efforts of the sales force. The agency noted that the dual release formulation is a big differentiator from other products in the very crowded acid reflux disease category.

“The concept of a new medication that provided a second release of drug later in the day was found to be highly relevant to physicians during market research,” the agency reported. “When Kapidex launched into an extremely competitive marketplace in early 2009, the branded needed to quickly and clearly differentiate itself from the class based on this unique product attribute.”

Takeda issued a press release in March announcing that Kapidex was renamed Dexilant after dispensing errors were reported because Kapidex was confused with two other drugs.

SILVER AWARD
AbelsonTaylor and Eisai Pharmaceuticals
Banzel Launch

Banzel treats seizures associated with Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. The strategy was to demonstrate product benefits without overpromising. The ad shows a tangle of neon-colored lines that capture the “chaos of electrical seizure activity.” The image progresses to show the lines straightened but still attached to a child in her mother’s arms. “There’s lots of energy in this ad that grabs your attention and directs you to the solution,” said one judge. “I really liked the…colorful illustration.”

The Finalists

  • AbelsonTaylor and Eisai Pharmaceuticals—Banzel Launch
  • AbelsonTaylor and Takeda Pharmaceuticals—Kapidex (now Dexilant)
  • Flashpoint Medica and Ipsen Pharmaceuticals—Extend Relief
  • ICC and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals—Nucynta
  • Pacific Communications and Allergan—Dex Appeal

From the October 12, 2010 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media