Make Way for the 150-Second Vytorin TV Ad

Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassan told listeners at a recent Lehman Brothers healthcare conference that Vytorin-Zetia TV ads will soon be back on the air. This time, however, do NOT expect to see the cute food-people comparison ads, which I thought were getting old a long time ago (see "Vytorin Ads Are Getting Old -- and Disturbing!").

As I said before:

Personally, I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell that the people-food comparison ads will come back. They are as dead as dodos. SP-Merck will have to come up with new ads like Pfizer did for Celebrex after Vioxx (a similar NSAID) was pulled from the market (see "New Vytorin TV Ads Are in the Works - IMHO").

As a matter of fact, my sources (neurons) tell me that the new Vytorin ads will be very similar to the Celebrex 150-second commercial. Not similar in style, but similar in length (150 seconds) and message; ie, there are risks and here's what they are, but the benefits outweigh the risks for the right kind of people, see your doctor.

The new Vytorin ads will also have to counteract the anti-atherosclerosis campaign by Crestor (see "Crestor Print Ad Touts Plaque Buildup Advantage"). But that will have play second fiddle to convincing us that taking Vytorin is worth the risk.