Super Bowl ads give Cialis early edge

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The new impotence treatment Cialis appears to have joined the New England Patriots and Janet Jackson’s publicists as big winners of this year’s Super Bowl.

In the week following the big game, more patients coming into physicians’ offices seeking treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED) asked for Cialis than Levitra, according to data collected by ImpactRx.

The second and third entries into the multibillion-dollar market long dominated by Pfizer Inc.’s Viagra, blitzed unsuspecting Super Bowl viewers with erectile dysfunction ads aimed at gaining a name recognition edge.

Cialis is sold by Eli Lilly & Co. and Icos Corp. , while Levitra is co-marketed by GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer AG

ImpactRx, which measures the effectiveness of promotions for drug companies, collected information from about 1,700 high-volume prescribing physicians on patient requests and new prescriptions written.

In the week following the Super Bowl, 34 percent of new patients requested Cialis compared with 21 percent for Levitra. Viagra, with its near universal name recognition, garnered 45 percent without any Super Bowl advertising.

In the week before the Super Bowl ads ran, Levitra had 25 percent, Cialis 23 percent and Viagra 52.

When a group of 100 urologists was broken out from the larger sampling of primary care physicians the results favored Cialis even more dramatically — 50 percent to 29 percent for Levitra and 18 percent for Viagra.

Total requests for the drugs were up more than 40 percent from the previous week, ImpactRx said. That’s good news for all three in a market with huge room for expansion as an estimated 85 percent of ED sufferers have yet to seek any treatment.

The Levitra ad featured former football coach and hall of fame player Mike Ditka poking fun at baseball for being a less macho sport — an insider’s reference to the summer game often sponsored by Viagra.

It was the type of direct-to-consumer ad that does not mention what the drug treats, instead telling viewers to ask their doctors.

Glaxo representatives said they did not feel it appropriate to discuss erectile dysfunction before a massive family audience — a sensitivity clearly not shared by the MTV-produced bump and grind half-time show that culminated with Jackson’s much-discussed exposed right breast.

The Cialis folks decided not to shy away from the delicate subject, seizing on the opportunity to reach an enormous audience to drive home what sets their drug apart from its rivals — effectiveness for up to 36 hours. The other two work for about four to five hours.

Various scenes of couples in tender moments were accompanied by a voice over that provided the selling points as well as the obligatory side effect profile that likely provided some uncomfortable moments in the family room.

“I do think that the Cialis ad was probably more effective because the 36 hours kept appearing,” said Barbara Lippert, critic for Adweek magazine. “Although having to say aloud in case of a four-hour erection you should seek medical attention was the capper for tastelessness, given that children were watching.”

She said the Levitra ad might even backfire.

“What about all the men who would need Levitra who like baseball?” Lippert asked. “Are they alienating something like 40 percent of their audience?”