Awards: POE vs. MM&M. I Pick Winners!

DTC Perspectives, a pharmaceutical industry trade publication that focuses entirely on consumer marketing, announced the winners of its sixth annual Perspectives On Excellence Awards (POEs) last night at the Awards Dinner on October 24th.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend because of my watercolor class at Bucks County Community College. Here's my first watercolor painting:


I had some trouble with the shadow, but otherwise I think it looks pretty good! Let's see Peter Rost or Ed Silverman do that!

Anyway, back to the POEs. And the winners are:

Most Innovative DTC Campaign

• Gold Celebrex
• Silver Gardasil
• Bronze Rozerem

Back in September, I predicted that Celebrex and Gardasil would win top honors, whereas respondents to my poll picked Rozerem and Gardasil/Tamiflu (see "POE: DTC Forevermore").

I don't know why my readers thought the Tamiflu DTC campaign was innovative -- as I said in my post, I never wrote about it, so how could it be innovative?

As for Rozerem, my guess is the ad agency responsible for this campaign has too much time on its hands and repeatedly voted for it in my poll! This Web 2.0 stuff and "wisdom of the crowds" can too easily be manipulated (see "Web 2.0 Pharma Marketing Tricks for Dummies").

Whatever! Meet Me at the MM&M Awards Bash!

Yes, I will be donning my rented tux and attending this "gala event" at Tavern on the Green in Central Park, NYC, on Thursday, November 1.

Now, this is a classy awards ceremony compared to the POEs, which is a Po' Man's event by comparison! I mean, where would you rather accept an award for your ad, which I have no doubt that you will receive one day: at the Parsippany Sheraton or at Tavern on the Green?

Being Tavern on the Green, I envision most of the 500 pharmaceutical, agency, and publishing executives attending to arrive in limousines, whereas I will show up in a taxi! Oh Lord, won't you buy me a town car, my friends all have limousines?



The only bone I have to pick with MM&M is the fact that Rozerem is repeatedly listed as one of the finalists in several categories! This despite my criticisms. But don't just take my word for it -- see what Lee Weinblatt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PreTesting, has to say in the recent Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine ("Direct to Consumer: All Eyes on You") or in my podcast interview with him ("Your DTC Ads Stink!").

But enough for now. After the ceremony, I will have more to say about the MM&M awards -- hopefully accompanied by photos of me hobnobbing with the pharma advertising elite!