New Lipitor campaign is spot on

Sep/03/2008 06:20

That clink you heard was the clutch giving way with the new Paradigm shift. The new Lipitor campaign is excellent and spot on for an audience that is confused about all the news around high cholesterol and medications that may or may not work. Add to that the recent death from Tim Russert and a lot of people are asking their physicians what medication is right for them and which medication is best to prevent CV problems. More often than not that medication is going to be Lipitor.

The new DTC campaign, shot in black & white, opens with a 57 one year old man who says he had a heart attack. He then goes on to tell his story within the Website. Given that the 60's is the new 40's and that people want to be able to retire after working hard all their lives this ad is great at hitting an exposed nerve and getting to the heart of emotional needs.

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One of the things that DTC marketers need to do more of is to put themselves in their customers place. The news about Vytorin has been all over the media; it lowers cholesterol, it's effective, it's not effective, there's a possible link with cancer, there is no link with cancer. What is a patient and a physician to think? Lipitor.com addresses all these issues with easy to use navigation. For example a callout clearly shows that Lipitor has been studied for 16 years. Already taking or considering Lipitor than "learn why Lipitor is lipitor"?

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Although Lipitor sales have been hurt slightly by generic statins it is still a mega-brand and often a first line treatment for high cholesterol. Crestor seems to be gaining a position a second line treatment when Lipitor does not do enough to lower bad cholesterol.

The TV ads I believe are effective in that they get your attention. My dad, who was fighting his weight all his life, seemed to lose weight when the doctor put a good scare into him telling him that he was a candidate for a heart attack. It worked and my dad lost a lot of weight and maybe the target audience for Lipitor needs the same wake up call. The Lipitor DTC team should be proud for this campaign it is well executed both on and offline.