Pharmaguy's Gallery of Drug Advertising Mascots

P H A R M A G U Y ’ S FA V O R I T E D R U G “ M A S C O T S ” ( A K A
C R I T T E R S ) S E E N I N D I R E C T - T O C O N S U M E R A D S
GALLERY OF DRUG ADVERTISING
“MASCOTS”

INTERNAL PLUMBING CRITTERS
M A S C O T S E I T H E R R E P R E S E N T S B L A D D E R O R W H AT
H A P P E N S W H E N T H E B L A D D E R I S F U L L .

2016. Pharma Marketing Network. All rights reserved.
Gallery of Drug DTC Advertising Mascots
MR. & MRS. WATER BALLOON IN AN
ENABLEX AD
Enablex TV commercials in 2009 featured
water balloon people, some of whom
were harmed during filming - notably a
water balloon woman who burst into a
shower of urine(?) due to an overactive
bladder, which happened at a high school
reunion.
This balloon couple was blithely unaware
of what their teenage balloon daughter
was up to with her boy friends in her
room. Find out more about that here:
http://bit.ly/eablexballoonpeople

ANNOYING MYRBETRIQ BLADDER
CHARACTER!
This annoying bladder-shaped critter
torments a woman all day urging her to go
to the bathroom in Myrbetriq commercials.
It also appeared in movie theaters in the
summer of 2014 to promote a unique
mobile ad campaign. More about that here:
http://bit.ly/PMT223

DETROL BATHROOM LADY RETIRES
When Detrol went off patent Pfizer came up with Toviaz to treat
women with overactive bladder. This was bad news for the Detrol
bathroom lady who had to go! Read about it: http://bit.ly/cbJDqU

VESICARE’S AWARD-WINNING PIPE PEOPLE
In 2012, Euro RSCG Tonic won two Effie
Awards for work completed on behalf of
its client, VESIcare.
“One reason for the success of the
campaign is that it managed to talk about
the problem and give a solution without
adding to the patients’
embarrassment. In short, it hit just the
right note. Patients just didn’t listen to the
advertising, they liked it,” claimed Rich
Roth, Managing Director, Chief Creative
Officer of Euro RSCG Tonic.

XIFAXAN’S GUTSY “BUBBLE GUY”
This walking mascot, nicknamed
“Bubble Guy” has been compared to a
dinosaur and Jar Jar Banks. Xifaxan is
for the treatment of irritable bowel
syndrome with diarrhea. No surprise
then that Valeant created a cute pink
mascot. It’s been reported that
Bubble Guy has at least 6 fans on
Twitter who have expressed fondness
or empathy for the “cute” and
“cuddly” mascot. Even a turd, like
South Park’s Mr. Hinky, can be cute.
More here: http://sco.lt/6by4g5

“IRRITABELLE,” THE VIBERZI IRRITABLE
SIDEKICK
Talk about irritable! The
Viberzi “irritable (bowel)
sidekick” enjoys nothing
more than preventing her
alter-ego IBS-D (Irritable
Bowel Syndrome with
Diarrhea) sufferer from
enjoying her life. In
comparison, Xifaxan’s
“Bubble Guy” is a joy.
More here:
http://bit.ly/Irritabelle

MOVANTIK HELPS WITH “OPIOID BAGGAGE”
Need help with your opioid baggage; e.g., constipation? Movantik will help you overcome
that and enjoy a day in the park with your opioid! See ad here: http://bit.ly/opioidpark

DESPERATE TURDS
This Dulcolax print ad is a view of turds (Scheisse) trapped inside an A-
hole! The tagline is expressed in a turd's thought balloon: “Only you
can set them free”. More here: http://bit.ly/deeturds

RAPAFLO’S PROSTATE MASCOT “WALLY” IS
REALLY A WALNUT!
I call him “Wally” because he looks just like a walnut (on left), which I suspect
was the model the agency used to create the character. There’s even a little
walnut-like point at the top of his head, which may not be medically accurate.
More about that here: http://bit.ly/wallywalnut

SLEEP AID CRITTERS
T H E S E L I F E F O R M S A P P E A R I N T H E B E D R O O M S A N D
D R E A M S O F S L E E P E R S I N A D S .

AMBIENCR ROOSTER & TWO GUYS
In 2008, Sanofi-Aventis, marketer of
sleep aid AmbienCR, ran a “Rooster
Car Alarm Commercial,” one of
several in a series of “unbranded”
ads. These ads did not mention the
brand, but promoted the branded
website SilenceYourRooster.com.
The ad agency responsible for the ad
− Saatchi & Saatchi − won the 2009
PE Magazine “ad stars” award. The
rooster, aka “cock,” was “specially
trained to stay up at night.” Read
more here: http://bit.ly/2guys1cock

BELSOMRA’S FURRY SLEEP/WAKE CREATURES
Is a good night’s sleep as elusive for you
as your cat? There he is, nice and white
and cuddly. But that wake cat is dirty
and creepy looking! The comments
attached to an “unlisted” Youtube video
of the ad are hilarious. See them here:
https://youtu.be/_kMzVNnv78w

ROZEREM ADS SHOW BEAVER, DIS LINCOLN
Back in 2006 many pharma marketing
pundits were trying to figure out the
thinking behind the new ad campaign
for Rozerem, a sleep aid pill marketed
by Takeda. The ads featured Abraham
Lincoln and a beaver.
Aside from “showing beaver” (sexual
innuendo intended?), the ads “dissed”
Abe. More about that here:
http://bit.ly/rozerembeav

THE LUNESTA MOTH LIVES ON!
I thought the Lunesta moth would be “mothballed” due to negative marketing
ROI. But I was wrong! More about that here: http://bit.ly/lunestamoth

LICE & FUNGUS AMONG US
S O M E N A S T Y C R I T T E R S M AY B E L I V I N G U N D E R Y O U R
T O E N A I L S & O N T O P O F Y O U R H E A D .

LAMISIL’S DIGGER THE DERMATOPHYTE
Digger looks nothing like an actual
dermatophyte. But he is kind of
“cute” and physicians loved to pose
with the “live” mascot at medical
conventions.
FDA sent Novartis a warning letter in
2003 because TV ads featuring Digger
overstated Lamisil’s efficacy (Digger
and his pals were completely
defeated by Lamisil suggesting a
complete cure of toenail fungus) .
Read the letter here:
http://bit.ly/diggerletter

JUBLIA’S MASCOT MAKES IT TO THE
SUPER BOWL
Jublia’s mascot tackled toenail fungus
during the 2015 Super Bowl. Not
everyone thought the ad was
effective: “Shouldn’t the Jublia
football player tackle and crush the
toenail fungus into the dirt until it is
completely destroyed, or at least
noticeably injured?”, asked one
commenter. “Or are they worried
about getting an unnecessary
roughness call?” Keep in mind that
the FDA is the ref in the real world.

ULESFIA LEAVES LICE LISTLESS
I came across this image after FDA issued an untitled
“warning” letter to Shionogi over a Ulesfia Lotion co-pay
voucher. More about that here: http://sco.lt/8E58rp

DEPRESSION DRUG MASCOTS
I T ’ S N O T E N O U G H T O S H O W D E P R E S S E D P E O P L E I N
D R U G A D S . C R I T T E R S A N D G A D G E T S A R E A L S O N E E D E D .

THOSE HAPPY ZOLOFT BLOBS!
Are these blobs or onions? Whatever these little mascots are supposed to be,
how happy can they be without arms or legs?

THE ABILIFY ROBE
“After 6 weeks on an antidepressant, I still couldn’t shake my depression,” says
the ad, which shows a robe chasing a woman as soon as she leaves the house.
That robe wants to take her down, but eventually Abilify puts it in the back-
ground where it sulks on its own.

THE PRISTIQ WIND-UP DOLL
According to a confidential inside
source, the wind-up doll signifies
what many people on depression feel
like: they must go through their daily
lives on “autopilot,” and at times, do
not even “feel human.” The wind-up
doll simulates the impact of
depression on daily functioning -
particularly feelings of sadness, loss
of interest in favorite activities,
trouble concentrating and lack of
energy. OK, I'll buy that. More on that
here: http://bit.ly/pristiqdoll

COPD CRITTERS
W H AT D O E L E P H A N T S A N D W O LV E S H AV E I N C O M M O N ?

SPIRIVA ADDRESSES THE ELEPHANT IN
THE ROOM
The elephant represents COPD.
It sits on peoples’ chests in
living rooms, outside on ham-
mocks, etc. But as soon as the
ad talks about Spiriva, voila!,
the elephant is off those chests!
But it follows people around
just waiting to crush their chests
again! I suppose the message is
not to forget to take your
inhaler with you wherever you
go because you never know
when the elephant will pounce!

SYMBICORT WOLF OPTS OUT OF BLOWING
DOWN PIGS’ STRAW HOUSE
Why doesn’t the wolf blow down the house AFTER treatment with Symbicort? It may be
AZ was afraid of getting an FDA warning letter citing “Overstatement of Efficacy.” Instead,
the wolf blows out candles on a birthday cake! http://bit.ly/fdastymiesDTC

REAL ANIMALS IN ADS
M O S T M A S C O T S A R E M A K E B E L I E V E L I F E F O R M S , B U T
R E A L A N I M A L S A R E A L S O F E AT U R E D I N D R U G A D S

ON CHANTIX YOU’RE THE TORTOISE, NOT
THE HARE
Slow and steady wins the
race. That is the message of
2007 Chantix TV DTC ads that
featured a race between a
tortoise and a hare, which
was a scrawny, reddish,
devilish looking hare; not a
cute cuddly rabbit like the
Eveready bunny. More here:
http://bit.ly/chantort

“SAL” & “MARTY” WIN MARKETING
CREATIVITY AWARD
AstraZeneca’s disease-education campaign “Take it from a Fish,” which
features “Sal” & “Marty” won the top prize at the 2015 Lions Health
creativity festival. More here: http://sco.lt/6Fzdr7

THE NASONEX BEE CRITICIZED AT FDA
HEARING
At a 2005 FDA public hearing on DTC
advertising and later in 2009 in front
of a Congressional hearing , Ruth Day,
head of Duke University’s Medical
Cognition Laboratory, famously
claimed that the Nasonex bee’s
beating wings divert viewers’
attention from the risk information.
More about that here:
http://bit.ly/beatingbeewings

MUCINEX’S MR. MUCUS GETS TOUGH!
“Big Bad Mr. Mucus” replaced nice
family guy Mr. Mucus in 2009.
Although this iconic mascot doesn’t
look very loveable, he may have been
inspired by two other, more loveable,
icons; i.e., John Travolta (who played
an amiable biker in the movie “Wild
Hogs”) and Shrek. More about that
here: http://bit.ly/badmrmucus

PURPLE PILL BOTTLE DOES WHAT NOW?
This Tanzeum pill bottle mascot is a golf buddy who doesn’t play or help you carry
your clubs. It just follows you around. It also follows other people with diabetes to
the beach, yoga class, wherever! See the ad here: https://youtu.be/6xdC40UanA4

THE PREVACID 24HR LURKER
Frequent heartburn is always lurking says the GSK TV ad for Prevacid 24Hr.
See the ad here: http://bit.ly/prevlurkerad

THANKS FOR VIEWING!

Pharmaguy's Gallery of Drug Advertising Mascots

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Pharmaguy's Gallery of Drug Advertising Mascots