Healthy Skepticism Library item: 11905
Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.
Publication type: news
Two Million Consumers Commit to Healthier Weight-Loss Approach with alli
PharmaLive 2007 Oct 23
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=486576&categoryid=43
Full text:
New Advertising Breaks Today, Shares How alli and a Healthy Diet are Changing Lives
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare announced today that it has sold more than 2 million alli® starter packs at retail, and that alli users are enthusiastically embracing alli and its proven track record of helping people lose weight gradually. This news comes as the company is breaking the first in a series of next-generation ads for the weight-loss product that depart from the typical “before and after” testimonials and offer an intimate and honest look at the healthy diet and lifestyle changes experienced by actual alli users.
Launched nationwide on June 15, alli is the only FDA-approved weight-loss product available to overweight adults without a prescription. The alli capsule works by blocking the absorption of about 25 percent of the fat in the foods people eat, helping them lose 50 percent more weight than they would through diet and exercise alone. alli starter packs contain alli capsules in 60, 90 or 150 counts, plus user’s guides, dietary support materials, access to a free online support program and the alli “shuttle™” carrying case.
In addition to its retail success, alli is garnering intense consumer interest and discussion. Approximately 5.4 million unique visitors have logged on to the alli websites, myalli.com and the Spanish-language mialli.com. In addition, more than 200,000 people have enrolled in alli’s online behavioral support program. Consumers have also posted more than 125,000 messages on the official alli message boards, and tens of thousands are talking about alli on blogs and online discussion groups they have formed themselves.
New Ad Campaign Breaks October 23, 2007
The new alli advertising campaign, which breaks today, is unique in that the users featured do not define success simply as pounds lost. They individually share that the alli program has been a life-changing experience, helping them improve their eating habits and making them feel more in control of their weight.
“It’s really been a lifestyle change for me,” says one alli user featured in the campaign. “From the moment you take that first capsule, it’s a different way of thinking. Here I am two months later, I’ve lost 15 pounds and I’m thrilled.” Another user states, “The support that I’ve received is phenomenal. At first, I didn’t think the program would be easy to manage, but it’s very doable. alli has convinced me that eating healthy is a way of life.”
Steven Burton, GSK Consumer Healthcare vice president of weight control, notes that, “From the very beginning, alli set out to be an honest voice in the weight-loss category. These are actual users who talk about everything from initially having questions about alli to how they now look at weight loss in entirely new ways.”
alli’s advertising agency, Arnold Worldwide, recruited close to 100 users from the alli “First Team,” a group of early adopters from across the country who were given access to the product a few months before it hit store shelves. The agency asked for videos of their stories, and ultimately flew seven of the team members to New York to film them.
Arnold produced seven, two- to three-minute vignettes of the alli users, some of which will be used to produce :30 television commercials. All seven stories will appear in their entirety on the alli website, where several other stories submitted by alli users from across the country already reside.
Arnold Worldwide Group Creative Director, Kate Murphy, acknowledges that people want to learn about products through the experiences of real people to whom they can relate.
“Consumers today want to hear that a product works from other real people,” she says. “It’s one thing for a manufacturer to say its product is effective, but getting that information from an actual user with actual experiences to share is much more powerful.”
About alli® Weight Loss Aid
alli (orlistat 60mg), the only FDA-approved weight-loss product available to overweight adults without a prescription, combines a clinically-proven product with a comprehensive individualized action plan. The alli program encourages modest, gradual weight loss, known by experts as the best way to lose weight. alli is to be taken three times a day with meals containing fat and has been available in pharmacies and mass retailers nationwide since June 15, 2007.
About GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
GSK Consumer Healthcare is one of the world’s largest over-the-counter consumer healthcare products companies. Its more than 30 well-known brands include the leading smoking cessation products, Nicorette®, NicoDerm® CQ and Commit® as well as many medicine cabinet staples, including Abreva®, Aquafresh®, Sensodyne,(R) Tums® and Breathe Right®.
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For company information visit: http://www.gsk.com.
CONTACT: Malesia Dunn of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare,+1-412-200-3544, or , or David Schemelia ofHealthSTAR Public Relations, +1-646-722-8819, or, for GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare malesia.a.dunn@gsk.com dschemelia@healthstarpr.com
Web site: http://www.gsk.com/http://myalli.com/
