Pfizer Canada goes with humor in a new TV campaign for the Viagra brand called ‘Confessions,’ developed by Toronto-based Taxi. The 15-second spots, which debuted yesterday, highlight Viagra as the antidote to over-enthusiastic leisure time hobbies like antiquing, strolling and watching sports.
The creative is based on Viagra’s market research, and aims to break through the denial that often plagues men who have erectile dysfunction, according to Marc Charbonneau, Pfizer’s senior brand manager. ‘Because they don’t even want to face that, they’ll find other activities to do. That was really the driving insight behind this campaign. It really resonated on that level with a lot of guys, [who] when we did the research, said ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what happened to us,” he tells MiC.
With media buy handled by MediaCom, the TV ads will run through spring and repeat this fall on national networks like CTV and CBC, in addition to specialty channels. TV was chosen for its effectiveness in reaching the 50- to 65-year-old male demo. Besides the bedroom, the most common place an erectile dysfunction conversation takes place between a couple is while watching TV, Charbonneau says. ‘They see one of these commercials, and they’ll often get that conversation going. So the idea is to stimulate that conversation, and if he needs treatment, then he talks to his doctor,’ he says
In one variation, a middle-aged man talks about what happened when he and his wife got ‘hooked on strolling,’ while the French creative spotlights a couple with an extensive sports-viewing habit. In another, a man in his fifties laments about getting hooked on antiquing. ‘I tried Viagra and now my antiquing is pretty much gone,’ he says.
