Eli Lilly takes aim at telehealth rivals in ‘Healthy Skepticism’ Oscars ad

The pharma wars continue as telehealth disruptors like Hims & Hers encroach on the market share of long-established drugmakers. A new campaign from Eli Lilly, which sells FDA-approved injectable GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, appears to target such smaller brands without explicitly calling them out by name. The new push, which breaks today and includes a TV spot running during the Academy Awards on Sunday, comes after Hims & Hers aired a Super Bowl spot promoting its GLP-1 compounded weight loss medications and pharmaceutical companies cried foul. Compounded semaglutide is not FDA-approved. Lilly’s ad, created with Wieden+Kennedy, is called “Healthy Skepticism.” The 30-second video includes voiceovers and text that suggest how compelling it can be to find medicines that promise to be all-natural. “You don’t even need a prescription—and those government regulators have no hand in it—they don’t even want you to know,” whispers the voiceover, alleging to be from a trusted source like a mom or favorite podcaster. The ad then switches from dark colors to red, with white text that reads, “Real medicine doesn’t need your faith.” With the campaign, Lilly wants to “raise awareness about the risks of taking unproven products,” many of which are mass-marketed and sold online, through social media and at compounding pharmacies, the company stated in an email. “We’re concerned about these claims, which blur the lines between fact and fiction, particularly in regard to weight loss medicines,” the company added, noting that consumers should remember that magic pills and miracle injections do not exist. Lilly is also spotlighting the issue on a special section of its website that reads “Protect Yourself Against Counterfeit, Fake, and Unsafe or Untested Compounded Products” with a link where consumers can check the “authenticity” of their medications. In addition to airing twice on TV during Sunday’s Oscars broadcast, the ad will be on Lilly.com today. The campaign includes a print ad appearing today in The Wall Street Journal and paid social media. The company declined to comment on what agency handled media duties. A Lilly spokeswoman noted that the company is referring to compounded products as well as any products marketed like medicine that “are not held to the same scientific standards or safety measures as tested, trialed, approved medicine.” NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today On Tuesday, Lilly cut the cost of its Zepbound vials as it competes with less expensive brands offering similar medications. As consumer interest in weight loss medicine has skyrocketed, many pharmaceutical giants are distancing themselves from competitors, which include the likes of Hims & Hers and Ro, another telehealth brand. After Hims & Hers aired its 60-second Super Bowl spot “Sick of the System,” which touted its medication as an affordable and accessible solution for obesity, earlier this month, Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, fired back. The Danish drugmaker ran a print ad the next day that, like Lilly’s new work, promoted skepticism. “Do you really know what you’re injecting in your body?” read the Novo Nordisk ad’s text, which was above a needle and vial labeled compounded semaglutide. Novo Nordisk also called out Hims & Hers in a statement, noting “irresponsible and misleading advertising about compounded GLP-1 drugs.” At the time, Hims & Hers told Ad Age that it takes “safety, quality, and transparency steps for every customer on our platform" and highlighted its Certificates of Analysis, which provides a report card with ingredients from “FDA-regulated suppliers.” Incidentally, Hims & Hers said earlier this week that it will no longer sell its weight loss drugs with semaglutide, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed the ingredient from a drug shortage list. The brand had been able to sell its compound versions because of the scarcity but that allowance is expected to end.

Eli Lilly takes aim at telehealth rivals in ‘Healthy Skepticism’ Oscars ad

Featured Stories