Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1347
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
Loyd L.
Makers of a Viagra rival have deal with NFL: Parody
Philadelphia Inquirer 2003 Jul 17
Full text:
Makers of a Viagra rival have deal with NFL The three-year sponsorship pact – the league’s first with a drugmaker – gives marketing rights to the makers of Levitra.
GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. and Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp., which have a rival drug to challenge Viagra, announced a three-year sponsorship agreement yesterday with the National Football League.
The deal, which gives Glaxo and Bayer exclusive marketing rights in the men’s health category, is the league’s first sponsorship with pharmaceutical companies, the NFL said.
The league reversed its longstanding policy this year of banning advertising and corporate sponsorships by drug companies.
Glaxo, which has a U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia, and Bayer are co-marketing Levitra, a round orange pill to treat erectile dysfunction that aims to topple Viagra, the famous blue pill from Pfizer Inc. that transformed the treatment of male impotence five years ago.
The NFL and the companies declined to comment on the details, because Levitra, also known by the chemical name vardenafil, is awaiting U.S. regulatory approval, which could come as early as next month.
“The NFL is the most admired sports league in the U.S., and Bayer and GSK are delighted and proud to be joining them on this groundbreaking, innovative initiative,” said David Pernock, Glaxo’s senior vice president of pharmaceutical sales and marketing.
As a corporate sponsor, “it will give us access to the NFL’s loyal, enthusiastic fan base and an opportunity to reach over 120 million football fans a week who watch the games,” said Glaxo spokesman Michael Fleming. He said the drugmakers planned to reach fans with messages about men’s health issues.
Advertising Age, a trade publication, reported that Glaxo and Bayer would pay the NFL $6 million a year for three years and would spend an additional $10 million to $15 million in media advertising. The companies have reportedly signed a deal with former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka to endorse Levitra in a series of ads.
The deal allows the companies to use the NFL logo in their marketing and to identify themselves as NFL sponsors. They still must purchase time or space from the networks or print publications.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league lifted its ban on pharmaceutical advertising in January after the Super Bowl. “We felt more comfortable, knowing that prescription drugs are heavily regulated. The NFL modified its policy.”
The league will accept sponsorships as well as product advertising in eight categories of medicines: allergy, cholesterol reducing, dermatology, diabetes, gastrointestinal, hair renewal and growth, prostate, and erectile dysfunction, McCarthy said.
The marketing battle to unseat Viagra will be fierce. More than 30 million U.S men have impotence problems, and despite Viagra’s success, only about 15 percent to 20 percent of them are being treated, urologists say.
Industry analysts expect Levitra (pronounced luh-VEE-tra) to be the first drug approved in the United States to take on Viagra, which last year had $1.7 billion in global sales. A third rival, Cialis (pronounced see-ALL-iss), from Eli Lilly & Co. and Icos Corp., is expected to receive marketing approval by the end of the year.
Since lifting the marketing ban, the NFL has been contacted by numerous pharmaceutical companies, McCarthy said. The league has established stringent guidelines, including one that bars endorsement by current owners, players and coaches if they are in uniform or identified with their clubs.
McCarthy said the league would review all advertising proposals to ensure “full compliance” with state and federal laws and FDA regulations.
