There are many effective DTC campaigns that work hard to establish a brand that resonates with a patient, creating a connection that drives memorability and, ultimately, requests, compliance and adherence. Then there’s the new AndroGel campaign, which has so many numbers flying around it seems targeted at accountants, not patients. Unfortunately, this is a spot without an idea or an insight. And with all the facts and figures, you could mistake it for a credit card ad. In fact, numbers are the stars—not the product, not the patient.
It’s impossible to know from the ad what AndroGel will do or how it will make you feel about yourself. It’s even difficult to know what AndroGel is from this ad—although we do see a giant pump bottle of the product. Really gigantic—the spokesman is dwarfed by it. (That’s supposed to communicate “Big News”.) Ostensibly, this campaign is aimed at current users, to let them know about a new concentrated version. But the creative strategy is to literally display huge numbers announcing the dosage, showcased at one point with a co-pay card (more numbers).
The brand’s website and online campaign are more informative and humanized. We can only hope that low testosterone sufferers find their way there to learn about the brand’s benefits, because they won’t find that out from the TV commercial. In fact, if they’re not already an AndroGel user, they will probably just be left wondering what all those numbers are about.
Deborah Dick-Rath is the President of Epic Proportions, a Healthcare Communications Consultancy. She can be reached at [email protected]
From the May 01, 2012 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
