Most-recalled spots make emotional connection

November 6, 2009 – 12:06 pm by Steven Niles

Nielsen IAG has once again released its list of the most recalled drug/vaccine ads, this time ranking the most recalled television spots of the 2008 to 2009 TV season. Two commercials for Boehringer Ingelheim’s urinary disorder drug Flomax topped the ranking. These latest installments of Flomax’s direct-to-consumer TV campaign feature men at a baseball game and men playing on a golf course. Here’s one of them:

The two Flomax creatives were recalled at a rate 42% greater than the average based on all newly-launched prescription drug ads. Nielsen IAG Ad Performance Tracking Service uses a Recall Index, which is the percentage of TV viewers who can recall within 24 hours the ad they were exposed to and the brand advertised during the normal course of viewing TV. These scores are then indexed against the mean performance for all the new prescription ads launched across this time period.

These Flomax ads prove that marketers can still be creative and memorable even within the restrictive pharmaceutical category, according to Fariba Zamaniyan, senior VP at Nielsen IAG, Healthcare.

Spots for Eli Lilly and Co.’s erectile dysfunction drug Cialis and Merck & Co.’s cervical cancer and HPV vaccine Gardasil tied for second on the list with 32% greater recall than the average drug ad launched last season. The ad for Cialis, which treats erectile dysfunction in men, is an extension of its “What are you waiting for?” campaign and features its iconic outdoor tubs and a variety of male and female couples.

The Gardasil spot features moms and their daughters who “chose” to get vaccinated engaging in a variety of activities such as surfing, shopping, and swimming. See it here:

The third most-recalled televison spot is for Wyeth’s depression drug Pristiq. This was the only newcomer at the top of the DTC ranking this past TV season, with a recall index of 128. Here’s the spot:

According to Ms. Zamaniyan, a key takeaway from the rankings is that DTC advertising is not just successful when symptoms of the ailment treated by the advertised drug are shown. Any prescription drug ad, she says, can still be memorable without the display of symptoms and still connect with the audience while staying within FDA guidelines.

One trend I noticed, particularly among the Flomax, Gardasil, and Pristiq television spots, is the use of an emotional appeal (even if that emotion is humor in the case of Flomax).

Ms. Zamaniyan agrees. “An emotional ‘pull’ is critical to advertising success particularly in the case of healthcare,” she told Med Ad News. “The emotional elements of the ad are particularly effective when the creative/visuals are relevant to the target audience. And that’s accomplished in each of these ads much better than the average ad.”

Tags: memorable, most-recalled ads, Nielsen