Glaxo launches TV DTC advertising for Zyban

Drug Store News, Dec 13, 1999

Glaxo launched a new direct-to-consumer television ad for Zyban in November, a campaign that emphasized that cigarette smokers struggling to quit may be able to use Zyban sustained-release tablets as part of a comprehensive program to help them ease into quitting.

"With Zyban, smokers keep smoking for up to two weeks while they get ready to quit," said Sharon Sharo, director of Zyban marketing at Glaxo. "It may be important for smokers who want to quit to know that with Zyban, they don't have to stop smoking all at once." The ad explains that smokers set a date to stop smoking during the second week of taking Zyban, and that most people take Zyban for at least seven weeks to 12 weeks.

The campaign features a oneminute television spot titled "Winners," in which smokers are depicted as "being in the fight of their lives." Zyban is highlighted as a method that gives smokers "a fighting chance to win," and concludes that by using Zyban, "You don't have to quit all at once."

The ad notes Zyban doesn't work for everyone, and that it is a prescription medicine that is different from nicotine replacements.