New Abilify Spot is Depressing
With the large number of DTC antidepressant campaigns running, there has developed a fairly recognizable antidepressant commercial archetype: a dejected woman/man with her/his head down, stares disconsolately off screen in the foreground while loved ones with forlorn expressions look on from the background. This scenario could be describing any number of antidepressant campaigns from Pristiq to Effexor to Cymbalta. However, I am specifically describing the latest Abilify 60 second TV spot.
This commercial follows a very traditional path of antidepressant advertising. Early frames of the commercial feature the aforementioned depression sufferer appearing for lack of a better word, depressed. Following the voice-over introduction of Abilify, the frames become happier and less severe, with the formerly depressed woman strolling on a lakeside dock while the sun beams down upon her muted smile. The music, too, has become less glum—the notes becoming more hopeful with every keystroke.
Chances are, you think you have seen this advertisement a hundred times. Well, you have not. It’s brand new. The spot first began appearing on TV screens in October.
It is a wonder, with a product such as Abilify, why the campaign chose to go in a direction that most other antidepressant brands have taken. It is a wonder, because Abilify is not actually an antidepressant. The drug is actually an antipsychotic, typically prescribed for the treatment of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder.
However, with this campaign, Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb are marketing the product’s third function, that of an ad-on to a current antidepressant regimen. The spot segues into this marketing message via a randomly placed chalkboard which informs the viewer, “Approximately 2 out of 3 people being treated for depression still have unresolved symptoms.” Abilify, then, as an ad-on to an antidepressant regimen can treat these “unresolved symptoms.” Wonderful.
So just what are these “unresolved symptoms” that 67% of depression sufferers are experiencing that are not being treated by their current regimen? Good question. The spot makes no indication of the symptoms to which the whole campaign is aimed at “helping.”
Personally, if I were a depression sufferer, currently on an antidepressant regimen, I would certainly like to know if I am one of the 67% that is not being completely treated. Say a depression sufferer saw this spot and thought, “Gee, I have been feeling rather fatigued lately despite my antidepressants, is that normal or can Abilify help me?” They would certainly get no answer from this spot. Yes, they could turn to the Web or their doctor to find the answer, but they might simply just shake of their fatigue as minor and ignore the possibility that their symptom is one of 10 that Abilify can help treat.
And what of those viewers that, upon seeing the “2 out of 3” statistic, continue to be engaged with the commercial, believing that Abilify can help them? One would suppose their natural next question would be “How? How can Abilify help ease these untreated symptoms? Isn’t my antidepressant supposed to treat my depression?” Again, the spot holds no answers. There is absolutely no indication of how an antipsychotic, when added to a current antidepressant regimen can succeed in treating symptoms where antidepressants failed. There is not even reference to a clinical study or FDA finding that supports this claim. Certainly, even a short allusion to such data would be more persuasive than touting an unsupported claim throughout the entire spot.
It is startling that a drug, which when branded as only effective when taken co-currently with other drugs, would not explain in its message to the consumer why adding more pills to a daily regimen is a benefit or even how it works or what it treats.
And finally, it is a wonder why Abilify chose to market itself in a manner so similar to antidepressants when it is not indicated as an antidepressant itself. The brand had the opportunity to differentiate itself from antidepressants and instead chose to market itself in parity to that category, airing on the side of vagueness and non-disclosure.
theehrlich
