Regeneron and Sanofi are at it again with their ongoing Dupixent DTC campaign dubbed DU More.
The pair of drugmakers rolled out the latest iteration of the campaign on Monday morning, right in time for the emergence of seasonal allergies and Asthma Awareness Month in May.
The refined DU More campaign — called Breathing — centers around the idea that if you can breathe better, everything is better.
The campaign includes two video ads that will air on network television and cable starting over the next few days, as well as Spanish language versions of the ads.
“Success for us is encouraging patients to visit our website, Dupixent.com, and learn more on their own — but also to raise Dupixent in discussions with their physicians,” Amy Keneally, director of consumer marketing for asthma at Sanofi, told MM+M. “That’s one of the main KPIs that we look at to make sure that our ad is motivating patients to take the next step in their treatment journey.”
In a one-minute video, average asthma patients are shown being able to enjoy the little things in life like lifting luggage, cleaning out the summer pool, or picking up the dog from the vet, all because Dupixent allows them to breathe better.
“Dupixent helps people with asthma breathe better in as little as two weeks,” the narrator in the ad states. “When you can breathe better, what isn’t better?” The narrator then proceeds to point out “This is better” when someone is singing in the shower, sleeping or taking part in any other mundane activity.
Breathing represents the fourth installment of the ongoing DU More campaign, which Dupixent originally launched in 2020.
Last year, the campaign was called Day in the Life and focused more on a sense of heroism among the characters portrayed, Pauline Benkov, director of consumer marketing for respiratory at Regeneron, told MM+M.
Instead of showcasing people jumping through water slides, kickboxing or flying a kite like in previous generations, Breathing shows people doing ordinary things that can often become difficult if their asthma is severe.
That creative decision was built on the extensive market research the team conducted with 350 moderate to severe asthma patients, Benkov explained.
She added that the campaign is a unique foray for the brand but focusing on more mundane aspects to life.
“It’s in the here and now, and it’s much more realistic to day-to-day scenes — although they’re maybe not the most aspirational [activities] — they resonated [with asthma patients],” she said. “It also features a wide range and breadth of characters. What we saw in our extensive market research is that everyone saw a little hint of themselves with either the scenes or the diversity of characters.”
The campaign will also roll out on social media channels including TikTok as well as an audio component on Pandora, a first for Dupixent. Those audio segments will include two patient ambassadors who are on Dupixent discussing their experiences taking the medication.
Since the DU More campaign’s launch four years ago, the team says it has tracked growing awareness of Dupixent year-over-year, especially among rival brands.
In 2023, Dupixent topped the list of Rx and over-the-counter (OTC) brands with the most ad impressions for several months.
Sanofi and Regeneron are also currently eyeing a label expansion for the drug to include COPD.
The Day in the Life campaign drove 4 million unique visitors to the website since its launch last year, Keneally explained, and the brand is hoping for performance in line or above that for Breathing.
Still, there’s room to grow, she noted.
“We know there are so many patients out there who are living with uncontrolled symptoms who are eligible for Dupixent. So our work is not done,” she said.
