In what could be the start of a controversial trend in pharmaceutical advertising, Indianapolis-based drug manufacturer Eli Lilly & Co. has created a 30-minute infomercial for Prozac featuring real-life depression sufferers that began airing last week on cable channels.
Produced by Indianapolis-based agency/production company Creative Street, the infomercial is aimed primarily at women. Directed and co-written by Dave Meyer of Creative Street, it is highlighted by unscripted interviews with 10 people-eight of whom are women-who have been diagnosed with clinical depression and have been treated with Prozac. They discuss their experiences before treatment, detailing the hopelessness and the stigma of depression, as well as the changes in their lives after treatment. One woman tearfully recounts how she lost two marriages to her battles with depression; another recalls how, in the second year of her teaching career, she was totally incapacitated to the point that she couldn’t read, grade papers or get out of bed.
The first-person accounts are interspersed with segments featuring the infomercial’s host, Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, director of the Lilly Centre For Women’s Health (a division of Eli Lilly), who offers information about the safety and effectiveness of Prozac. "Since it was approved by the Federal Drug Administration more than 10 years ago," says Lewis-Hall, "it has become the most prescribed anti-depressant in the world." She proceeds to warn viewers that the drug isn’t right for everyone, that only a doctor can prescribe it and that results may vary.
One portion of the infomercial depicts a Q&A session with two former depression sufferers and two doctors. One doctor, Sloan Manning, relates that Prozac typically produces results in four weeks although it takes about 12 weeks to get a "full response" and that the initial period of treatment is around nine months to a year.
The paid programming was slated to air in the middle of the nights and on weekends-times when marketers believe depressed people are more likely to be watching TV.
Eli Lilly & Co. spokesman Greg Kueterman noted that depression is a very difficult illness to describe in a :60 second commercial, which led to the company’s decision to go with a half-hour show format. "[We thought] let’s show people what depression is," said Kueterman. "Let’s have real-life patients-not actors-talk about what their struggles were, why they maybe didn’t seek treatment [at first], whether it was a stigma. And in a few cases, [we showed] examples of how they recovered-obviously, through Prozac. We couldn’t do justice to the topic with the shorter format."
This direct-to-consumer marketing campaign comes in the wake of changes made in ’97 by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) that loosened restrictions for pharmaceutical advertising (SHOOT, 8/29/97, p.1). In ’98, Eli Lilly debuted three Prozac spots as a depression-awareness campaign, created by Chicago-based Leo Burnett Co. and directed by Dennis Manarchy of Manarchy Films, Chicago.
The spot "Checklist" presented still photos of people who are alone or unhappy as a voiceover related the symptoms of clinical depression. "Illness" focused on the face of a middle-aged woman, as a voiceover talks about her relief upon learning she has an illness. "Reflections" depicts a woman about to blow out candles on a birthday cake recalling painful memories of her depression.
Eli Lilly’s first consumer marketing effort was a national print advertising campaign that was launched in July ’97 in consumer magazines.
Easy Targets?
Since the FDA revised its guidelines, some have criticized the use of TV to market prescription drugs to consumers. With regards to Prozac, some cite the ethical considerations of marketing to, and potentially exploiting, a vulnerable target audience in order to sell product.
Kueterman countered that Eli Lilly was careful to offer fair and balanced information, and not present the drug as a magic cure-all. "We make clear statements that Prozac is not for everybody, and that you need to see your physician to figure out if Prozac is right for you, and offered a lot of side effect information," said Kueterman. "So clearly, although we’re interested in those who can succeed on Prozac … we also think we added a lot of balance and made sure people knew it’s not for everyone."
Among the most important messages the infomercial imparted, observed Kueterman, was the one that made the point that "it’s OK to suffer from depression and you don’t have to be ashamed. What you should really be doing, rather than hiding it or living with it, is going to a physician to seek treatment."
Eli Lilly & Co. credits go to executive producer Nicole Shafir and advocacy development manager Randy Hall. Creative Street credits go to executive producers Steven Katzenberger, David Smith and Gregg Bowman. Additional credits go to freelance co-writer Chuck Culver; DP Thomas Zimmerman; freelance senior Avid editor Mike Ullrich and online editor Eric Maloney of Innovative Edit, Indianapolis. Original music and postproduction audio was provided by Chris Lieber and Bill Mallers of ripple FX, Indianapolis.
