Tag Archives: pharmaceutical marketing

Online Video

Dumbest Lawyer in Healthcare Marketing

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One day I'll work as a lawyer at Medimmune

Take a bold YouTube homepage-takeover advertisement like today’s “Flu Has Cooties” campaign then toss in this ridiculous disclaimer: “MedImmune has no control over the video content on the YouTube homepage.” What do you get? Shit. Without that insulting disclaimer, I might have sailed right onto the Flumist page, learned about a flu vaccine that comes in a handy nasal spray, and maybe even “asked my doctor about Flumist today.”  Alas, I had to clear the vomit from the back of my throat first.

The gratuitous disclaimer insults human intelligence, reveals the sorry state of pharmaceutical marketing, and sucks the mojo from this campaign like Dr. Evil to Austin Powers.

The stupidest disclaimer ever in health marketing

I can just hear the company’s medical/legal review meeting, as some poor bio marketer tries to explain: “Well, sir, a YouTube homepage advertisement doesn’t, in fact, make the advertiser responsible and liable for the videos that appear around it.” Then the thick-headed attorney, who recently stapled his tie to his wall accidentally, charges back with something like:

The FDA may think we’re responsible for those bosom films and cat viral movies. What? Well you call them videos, but I call them talkies. You know, we’d  better not advertise on YouTube. DDMAC hasn’t come out with its position on social media. YouTube is social media, right? (Insert wet fart sound). Well- I’ll approve it as long as you put a disclaimer on the masthead button. What? Okay on the banner. What if there’s a flu video near our banner? We might get a letter from the FDA. People might think our sponsorship implies editorial oversight of the entire YouTube library. I’ll have to consult outside council.

Seriously I’d like to meet this attorney and give him/her a wedgie. I hope this moron is requiring Flumist magazine ads to disclaim “Medimmune has no responsibility for the articles or letters to the editor in this magazine.” Better stay away from television, because it’ll take a good 15-seconds to explain that “adjacent shows are not the responsibility of Medimmune, AstraZeneca, its employees, or its shareholders.”

I think the ad would have been more effective if it just said “Flumist side effects (adverse reactions) include runny nose, headache, muscle aches, cough, tiredness, weakness, chills and muscle aches (no I didn’t make that up). I swear I’d rather get those side effects AND the flu than deal with this type of legal mindset.

Feeling sympathetic to the attorney? Good- go work there. They’re  hiring. By the way, I tried Flumist and it made me fart. Now if that attorney reads this he’s gotta report it. It’s a Flumist adverse event.

book, Online Video

Even Pharmaceutical Companies are on YouTube Now

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The pharmaceutical industry best known for mass-market advertising and relentless sales representatives chasing down doctors. But FDA promotional restrictions have caused pharma firms to fear and loath Internet marketing. But Sanofi Aventis’s promotion via YouTube gives us pause and hope.

The Sanofi ad below, which mentions no product or benefits, but has full “fair balance” of risks (odd), leads us to a YouTube channel that educates consumers on insulin… via the most visceral form of media (video).  Presumably the initiative is “unbranded” promotion for the newly launched Apidra (although I didn’t see any evidence of the product except for its risks).

 The branded channel shows that YouTube is providing ways for highly-regulated pharmaceutical marketers to balance content on what YouTube calls “branded channels.” There’s full fair balance, and links to Sanofi’s websites.

Side effects but no product
Side effects but no product from Sanofi?
What I like about this campaign is that the YouTube advertisements don’t try to take people away from YouTube (recent studies show that YouTubers watch exponentially more videos than those making brief visits to other video sites). Furthermore, Sanofi’s unbranded website (GoInsulin) has a “callout” back to the YouTube site, where consumers are far more likely to engage for longer.
One interesting advantage pharmaceutical marketers have over their consumer-product goods counterparts is that the FDA restrictions placed on pharma brands are consistant with social media rules. The FDA limits promotion, so pharmaceutical brands “soft sell” online (no clear guidelines exist), and use education and unbranded promotion. That approach is far more appropriate than the “mass market” television ads and pushy sales reps that did not help the Rx industry reputation.