Erectile dysfunction marketing blitz establishes 'normalcy' message

Drug Store News, March 22, 2004 by Michael Johnsen

HOUSTON -- The erectile dysfunction marketing blitz is on. The two newest players in the ED market permeated the airwaves during this year's Super Bowl, reaching almost 90 million people with either the Levitra challenge or the Cialis soft sell. And although Pfizer did not buy space for its veteran Viagra ED remedy this year on the CBS broadcast, the company stepped in with its "I'm a champion!" television campaign in the weeks following the Super Bowl.

Color advertisements touting both Levitra and Cialis were placed in the sports pages of several major dailies the Monday following Super Bowl Sunday. Although it is impossible to predict how many ED patients will begin seeking treatment following a now commonly viewed ad campaign, prevailing wisdom dictates that the more ED gets talked about, the less stigma will surround the condition. Consequently, according to market enthusiasts, more men with ED will seek treatment.

"The more advertising there is to a wider audience and the more brand names there are in the market-place, the more likely this is to become as commonly discussed as headaches, for example," noted Lynda Maddox, professor of marketing and advertising at George Washington University. "That's what advertising for this product does. It creates normalcy."

Indeed, the condition already is losing some of its shock value with the widespread introduction of its new two-letter handle. "The strategy is, of course, that if you can say, 'I have ED,' it sounds better than if you say 'erectile dysfunction,'" Maddox said. ED is much easier to utter among mixed company, she added, making the topic easier to broach.

Further, as much as each of the pharmaceutical companies would argue against using ED treatments recreationally, advertisements traditionally have carried a testosterone-driven ED message. Indeed, with Major League Baseball's Rafael Palmeiro and Nascar's Mark Martin shilling for Viagra and the National Football League's Mike Ditka pitching Levitra, seeking treatment for ED appears to be losing its embarassing mark, at least in the minds of advertisers. If these men can acknowledge their condition and seek help, the messages seem to say so can you.

That message Ys evolving, however.

Now, direct-to-consumer advertising for ED is making a softer appeal. For instance, both Viagra and Cialis advertisements are featuring couples. "They're showing couples--older couples but not too old," Maddox noted. "Couples having fun ... and they use this product."

The marketing evolution is moving from a purely male demographic to a message appealing to couples. Advertisements for ED in the future could very well address women as health care influencers, Maddox said. "I wouldn't doubt that you would start to see advertising in women's publications," she surmised.

"What patients will tell you is that when it comes to their sex life, it's not just about them being able to have an erection again. It's about them as a couple getting back to a normal sex life," commented Paula Garrett, Eli Lilly's brand manager for Cialis, referencing consumer research the company conducted.

With the two latest ED remedies now available on the U.S. market, one would expect Viagra's ED monopoly of $1.7 billion to face severe erosion. However, a rising tide could lift all boats. With the heightened awareness, analysts believe that the actual market will expand significantly to the point where all three remedies will be able to claim some level of success this year. "We are seeing right now a trend toward some growth in the [ED] market, Paul Ewing, Pfizer spokesman for Viagra, told Drug Store News. "This is very gratifying for us, but we are getting the vast majority of that growth.

The market potential is definitely there. Approximately 30 million men, many of whom are over the age of 40, currently are estimated to have ED. those, only some 10 percent currently are seeking treatment for their condition, Garrett noted. "This is really an underserved category."

Nonetheless, increased treatment translates into increased pharmacy trips, and though many ED experts acknowledge that women still play an important role in health care decisions, men are at least as likely to be in the driver's seat on this decision.

That, of course, means more men in drug stores, a trend that Drug Store News already has measured with its annual Top Brands Study, which it released last month. Almost three-quarters of the approximate 450 men interviewed for the study acknowledged shopping in the drug channel in the past three months. With two new ED options, men may be cruising through the grooming area and maybe making a pit stop in what has become a pleasure-driven family planning section.