Ads for impotence drug Cialis to pitch results, not celebrities
The creators of Cialis — Bothell-based Icos and Eli Lilly — have decided not to hire a celebrity pitchman to make their impotence drug a household name. Instead, the companies are betting that once Cialis is approved in the U.S., it will become a pop-culture phenomenon because it lasts longer than its rivals.
"We don't need a celebrity spokesperson for the launch of Cialis," said Icos spokeswoman Lacy Fitzpatrick. "We've got a differentiated product."
The decision is a critical early maneuver in what many in the pharmaceutical industry believe will be one of the fiercest drug-marketing battles ever. The fight intensified in August when Levitra won approval from the Food and Drug Administration, but it will not run full throttle on TV and in doctors' offices until Cialis becomes the third impotence drug to win FDA approval, expected later this year.
John Mack, publisher of Pharma Marketing News, an online industry newsletter, said drug companies seek celebrities because they can put a human face on a little-known condition and can create buzz quickly for a new drug. But because Icos and Eli Lilly can claim that their drug lasts longer, Mack said, they should concentrate on sending that message.
"It's crowded with celebrities in this area," Mack said. "You're not going to distinguish your product that way. But if you have a unique message — that a drug lasts longer — then you want to be sure your product is identified with that message and isn't confused with another product."
Fitzpatrick would not say how much money the companies will save by not using celebrities. The makers of Levitra reportedly spent $18 million on the NFL deal, including Ditka. But cash doesn't appear to be in short supply — Icos raised $278 million from Wall Street over the summer partly to bankroll a Cialis ad blitz.
The company cannot go into detail about its marketing plans until after it wins approval to sell it in the U.S., but it says Cialis lasts longer and its effect isn't weakened by food. The drug allows men and women to be more spontaneous, to have sex when the mood is right, rather than planning it around the pill's schedule, Icos says.
All three drugs work by blocking an enzyme that relaxes blood vessels and increases blood flow to the penis during sexual stimulation. Pfizer's Viagra and Levitra — marketed by GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer — remain in the blood for about four hours. Cialis has been shown to be effective for 24 to 36 hours, leading some to call it "the weekend pill." All three pills are being priced similarly.
Viagra became a worldwide household name after it was approved in 1998, partly because Bob Dole took away some of the stigma and made it OK for men to talk to their doctors about impotence. It has lately started aiming toward a younger demographic, by hiring Palmeiro and race car driver Mark Martin. Viagra had $1.7 billion in sales in 2002.
No one knew the size of the impotence market before Viagra because men didn't really talk about the condition, but market researchers say up to 30 million American men suffer from some form of sexual dysfunction.
Luke Timmerman: 206-515-5644 or ltimmerman@seattletimes.com