Creative Review
Advertising campaign for Allegra represents an original and refreshing approach to the patient type challenge. In a welcome departure from the tradi tional patientinyourface approach, it uses a variety of different vehicles and complementing hats that clearly say Allegra is for a wide range of seasonal allergy patients. In addition,the attentiongetting vehicles and hats create a strong brand identity, making it a standout in this crowded,competitive market.And,the eyecatching design lends stop ping power as well. But, that’s not all. The journal ad is a shining example of a conceptual theme successfully playing out throughout an ad — something wedon’t often find as we flip through the pages of medical jour nals.What we often do see is an ad that more than likely started out conceptually strong,but was altered as it made its way through the creative and approval processes, thereby leaving it conceptually Howmany times have you opened a medical journal to begreeted by an abundance of ads depicting patient types? Howmany times have you or a colleague worked with a client who has requested that a patient type (or types in many cases) be incorporated visually into a promotional campaign? Patients are everywhere … with their fake expressions, in their contrived surroundings (no matter how “natural” the art director tries to make them) … the golfer teeing off, the business womanwielding her briefcase, the Grandma or Grandpa with cherubic grandchildren perched in their laps.Alas,we’ve seen them … and seen them … and seen them.Creatively,we continue to be chal lenged to find interest ing and unique ways to depict the end user. The most recent oing by the ads chosen this month, good creative uses humor to convey a message, is easy to relate to, and has a strong con ceptual theme. Each ad chosen this month fits one of these conditions. Lowe Azure’s Tritace ad strikes a note of familiarity with its humorous take on the `Save the Whale’ theme. Using a familiar slogan about an endan gered species in a comic way helps the ad deliver its message about cardiovascular disease. Deutsch’s Zytrec spot deals with the familiar situation of a person falling in love with someone who owns a pet he is allergic too. The campaign shows a man and a woman in love and the man’s efforts to maintain his relationship by overcoming his allergies to her cat. Abel sonTaylor’s Allegra campaign successfully meets the challenge of representing patient types with strong imagery, while effectively conveying some of the product’s strengths. While each of these ads meets its objective through different tactics, each has achieved suc cess doing so. weak.That’s not the case here.The simple,yet highly impactful headline,“Drive On,” is brilliant. In addition to working with the visuals, the headline also clever ly relates to the nonsedating properties of the med ication and the fact that with Allegra,allergies will not stop or interrupt patients’daily activities.This is one of the most important benefits of an allergy product. In fact,this is supported further as the read er continues on to learn that in patients whounder went a drivingsimulator study,Allegra did not impair driving ability. Once again, clever.The con cept smoothly ties into data featured in the ad. Hats off to AbelsonTaylor and the creative team responsible for this campaign. Linda Donnelly Mustic, a copywriter at AdairGreene HealthcareCommunications in Atlanta,appreciates theoriginal approachAbelsonTaylor takes to identify patient types. Brand: Allegra Client: Aventis Debuted:February 2002 Agency: AbelsonTaylor Inc. Group Creative Director: Stephen Neale Associate Creative Director: Brad Graetz Copywriter:Paula Lemperis Allegra G Linda Donnelly Mustic For Art’s Sake Hats off!
I really got a chuckle out of this ad for Tritace, which appeared in the United Kindgom. It’s a sim ple metaphor that completely nails the product benefit in a relevant, funny, and surprising way. It’s difficult to make comedy work in the healthcare category without being offensive.To me, this ad achieves the perfect balance with its cheeky juxta position of imagery and copy. It conveys the prod uct benefit of saving endangered lives by grabbing our attention with a headline normally reserved for national geographic and an image, that while Brand:Zyrtec Client:Pfizer Debuted:April 7,2003 Agency:Deutsch Inc. Art Director: Scott Schindler Copywriter:Lisa Garrone Director: Gilly Barnes Producer: Andy Grasheim Zyrtec The ancient Egyptians had a genuine love affair with cats.So much so, they actually surrendered the city of Pelusium to an attacking Persian army rather than harm a multitude of cats scampering about the battlefield. Clearly, the creative folks at Deutsch under stand the attachment between human and feline (perhaps, they have some ancient Egyptians working there). And the agency taps into that dynamic in a very natural, charming way in “Cat,” the 60secondTV spot for Zyrtec.Basically, the spot is a variation on the timetested theme of guy with cat dander allergy meets girl with cat. Love me, love my cat, so for the three of them to live happily (and wheezefree) ever after, guy switches to Zyrtec and bonds with Whiskers. What is so delightful/effective about this spot is that it gets to the very nub of relation ships:they require work (and change,accep tance,breaking down resistance, etc.). But change is a good thing.As in, change your meds,change your life.To see our guy finally entertaining the imperturbable cat with wildly twirling string takes connectivity to new heights. In the end, isn’t it the hopeof all communi cation to connect?To bemeaningful and per tinent to an audience? Product features are swell, but benefits sell (e.g., guy gets allergy relief and snuggles with girl). It’s just smart advertising.Certainly, in the case of Zyrtec, it gives one paws for thought. For ChetMoss,seniorVP,creative director at Euro RSCG Life, a global communications company based in NewYork,advertising is about finding the right connection,and working smarter. For him, the Zyrtec TV spot fills the bill. Chet Moss Brand:Tritace Client: Aventis Debuted:January 2002 Agency:Lowe Azure Creative Director: JonWatson Art: James Liddell Copy:Jon Watson Tritace humorous,does not offend as it might if paired with a line that had a less familiar societal meaning.This is one of those ads that could easily cross borders — both the health condition that the product address es and the metaphor used to con vey the product benefit are univer sal in their understanding. It’s hard to imagine an ad like this even making it into market research here in the United States, which is another reason to applaud this work.Congratulations to the creative team,agency,and especially the client. For Guy Mastrion,executive VPandmanaging director,creative,at Palio Communications,Sarasota Springs,N.Y.,Lowe Azure’s simple metaphor successfully nails the product benefit. A simple metaphor Guy Mastrion Love me, love my cat 65 PharmaVOICE J u ne 20 03