The dizzying array of celebrities pushing various drugs on television and elsewhere over the years has been enough to make people think they're hallucinating.
Figure skater Dorothy Hamill promoted Merck & Co.'s infamous Vioxx. Folksinger Shawn Colvin spread the news in public talks about GlaxoSmithKline's antidepression medication Wellbutrin XLTM. And who can forget politician Bob Dole holding forth in commercials for Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra?
This bewitching parade of stars is part of a decade-old ramp-up by makers of prescription drugs, who in 1997 were freed from restrictions on marketing heavily to consumers.
Now a controversy surrounding Pfizer's use of artificial-heart inventor Robert Jarvik as a spokesman for the cholesterol-lowering Lipitor has sparked additional questions about the practice. Pfizer pulled the ads this week after lawmakers and press reports questioned Jarvik's credentials to make medical claims.
The use of celebs as pitchmen has become prevalent as drug makers try to court the vast spending power of aging baby boomers, they want to persuade consumers to buy their products when rivals often have drugs differentiated by only a few nuances. Celebrities generate attention, but the Lipitor episode points to the dangers inherent in pushing prescription medications directly to consumers using nonmedical professionals.
Critics suggest that medicine shouldn't be sold with the same methods as sneakers, soup, or cellphones.
"I think the latest round of concern is going to cause a lot of agencies to think twice and a lot of advertisers to think twice about putting anyone recognizable up there" in pharmaceutical ads, said Andrew Schirmer, executive vice president and managing director of Interpublic Group's McCann HumanCare, a healthcare marketing agency.
At issue in Pfizer's ads was whether Jarvik was qualified to speak about Lipitor's benefits and side effects. While he has a medical degree, he did not go through residency training and is not licensed to practice medicine or prescribe drugs.
Adding to the furor, a stunt double was used in an ad in which Jarvik appeared to be rowing.
In a statement, Pfizer said, "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. We regret this. Going forward, we commit to ensuring there is greater clarity in our advertising regarding the presentation of spokespeople."
Celebrities have hawked drugs on TV since former morning-show host Joan Lunden pitched for Schering-Plough Corp.'s Claritin in 1998. Since that time, pharmaceutical advertising has become one of the biggest categories of ad spending in the United States. In 2006, pharmaceutical marketers spent about $5.29 billion, a 13.8 percent jump from 2005, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Generally, it's preferable that celebrities who talk about the benefits of a particular drug have used the product.
In recent years, however, drug companies have backed off the use of popular people, said Michael Guarini, a consultant who previously ran WPP Group PLC's Ogilvy Healthworld, a healthcare marketing agency.
Big drug companies learned something other marketers have long understood, he said: Celebrities distract consumers from the product being sold and the message an ad conveys, a danger when prescription medication ads include important details.
Today, many pharmaceutical concerns won't use famous people unless they have a direct connection to the medication in question, said Anne Devereux, chief executive of TBWA\WorldHealth, an Omnicom Group Inc. healthcare agency. "Celebrities have a role, but it needs to be limited to places where they can truly be authentic," she said. "Building on actual patient experience is going to be far better heard than somebody who is very glamorous talking in a disjointed way about it."
One current example viewed as effective is Sally Field for Boniva, an osteoporosis medication copromoted by Roche Laboratories Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline. A Glaxo spokeswoman said the actress was diagnosed in 2005 and paired with the product in 2006. Field also speaks at events about her condition.
Many drug firms pay actors to talk publicly about their general conditions, rather than specific medications, which makes it easier to get coverage by news outlets.
"Each media outlet gives 'paid pharma relationships' different considerations," said David Schwab, managing director of First Call, an Interpublic celebrity consulting firm. "If asked, most editors will say it is a slippery slope and they prefer to stay away from openly allowing paid pharma plugs," he added, but the ventures often hinge on disclosure of the marketing relationship to producers or editors and the relevance of the news the star's appearance may generate.
Celebrities have begun to fade as a hot technique, but others remain, including the use of animated characters, bawdy humor, and other oddities (a talking beaver and Abraham Lincoln recently appeared in ads for Rozerem, a sleep medication).
Devereux predicts the category will calm down as more patients gain regular access to the Web, where TV ads can direct them to get more information and straight facts than can be conveyed in a 30-second spot. As regulatory scrutiny of this ad genre continues, she said, that route is gaining more favor. "The more we are about risks and benefits and authentic communication, the better we do."
Brian Steinberg is the television editor of Advertising Age.
