Educating On Erectile Dysfunction In Hong Kong

Educating On Erectile Dysfunction In Hong Kong

source: Marketing Vox

Today, the Wall Street Journal reported on an interesting marketing campaign implemented by Bayer in Hong Kong for its anti-impotence medication Levitra. Bayer faced two obstacles to driving uptake of its medication in this market:

1.    Direct-to-consumer advertising is not allowed in Hong Kong

2.    Men are unwilling to discuss this issue with their doctors or acknowledge they have it.  

To overcome these obstacles, Bayer’s public relations agency, Golin Harris, created an advertising campaign that made light of the problem without mentioning the brand name.  According to the Journal:

“Part of the humor is that the ads leave embarrassing words and ideas up to innuendo and pun. Instead of mentioning erectile dysfunction specifically, most of them simply feature a photo of a limp, hot-dog-shaped balloon. One features a satisfied customer wearing a Superman costume with the ‘S’ on his chest replaced by the Chinese word for ‘upright.’ That character also happens to be the first in Levitra's Chinese name.”

The campaign has been a great success.  Sales of Levitra have increased by 244% and Bayer spent $190,000 on the campaign.  To view an advertisement, please see the image below.

http://www.healthcarevox.com/NA-AL206_ADVERT_20061122185855-thumb.jpg