New Lilly Marketing Campaign Highlights Patient Challenges in Road to Recovery

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Eli Lilly recently launched a marketing campaign with an ad focused on addressing various challenges that patients face in their journey to recovery, such as discrimination, financial constraints, and neglect of their pain. Aiming to “give patients a chance at health,” the ad takes more of a melancholy approach as opposed to previous advertisements. As it continues, the ad takes on a more positive theme showing the patients experiencing much happier times, reflecting the idea that advancements in medicine can improve the health of people from all types of backgrounds.¹

“We will never stop trying to get better,” stated the advertisement. “Because when medicine gets better, all of us can get better.”²

This isn’t the first time that the drugmaker spent big on television advertising. Last year, Lilly launched a commercial that coincided with the re-stock of Mounjaro, its weight loss and diabetes treatment, after a two-month shortage. Titled “What If,” this advertisement featured patients imagining themselves in a situation of handling their type 2 diabetes differently. Reportedly, Lilly spent approximately $19.6 million on the ad, which emphasizes the medication’s ability to manage type 2 diabetes and decrease food intake. At the time of the advertisement’s release, the FDA had not yet approved a weight loss indication for Mounjaro.^3,4

Back in 2021, Lilly released its first corporate advertisement during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Despite most athletic ads featuring stories of overcoming adversity, the clip featured a warning about the grim realities of American healthcare, subtly mentioning the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.⁵

“After being postponed because for the first time in history because of the pandemic, the Olympics and Paralympics are back. Watching the success of our athletes will once again give the impression that America is the healthiest country in the world,” begins the clip. “We aren’t but we can be. We have the science, the medicine, we have everything we need. We just need to make health a priority. Because our collective health is too important to take for granted ever again. The health of our nation can’t just be measured by the victory of our champions. It must be measured by the health of all of us.”⁶

Promoting the ads on social media, Lilly is changing the wording for the campaign depending on the platform. For example, it stated on Instagram that “health is fundamental to our lives” while stating “we’re a medicine company—and a medicine company puts health first” on its LinkedIn account.¹

References

1. Lilly showcases role in helping patients 'get better,' empathizes with their struggles in TV spot. Fierce Pharma. January 30, 2024. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/lilly-showcases-role-helping-patients-get-better-empathizes-their-struggles-tv-spot

2. Get Better Youtube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OKT-Jik5Mo

3. Eli Lilly Invests Heavily in Debut Mounjaro TV Ad Campaign for Diabetes. Pharmaceutical Executive. April 7, 2023. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.pharmexec.com/view/eli-lilly-invests-heavily-in-debut-mounjaro-tv-ad-campaign-for-diabetes

4. Eli Lilly Spends Big on First Mounjaro TV Commercial for Diabetes. XTalks. April 6, 2023. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://xtalks.com/eli-lilly-spends-big-on-first-mounjaro-tv-commercial-for-diabetes-3424/

5. Eli Lilly opens Olympic Games with first corporate ad—and a reality check on the state of the U.S. health system. Fierce Pharma. July 20, 2021. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/eli-lilly-opens-olympic-games-first-corporate-ad-and-sobering-take-state-u-s-health

6. Eli Lilly TV Spot, 'Our Collective Health'. Ispot.tv https://www.ispot.tv/ad/OipQ/eli-lilly-our-collective-health