Manufacturer tests TV ads for Depo Provera
October 1, 1997
Manufacturer tests TV ads for Depo Provera
Your adolescent patients may be familiar with Depo Provera as an effective form of birth control, but for older women who haven’t had the time to keep up with contraceptive developments, hearing about "the shot" may bring puzzled looks.
Women of all ages soon may have a chance to see and hear more about Depo Provera if its manufacturer, Pharmacia and Upjohn of Kalamazoo, MI, decides to go nationwide with a series of two-minute television ads on the drug. The ads are the first prescription contraception for women to be aired on television, according to USA Today.1
Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations require that when a prescription drug ad promotes a product name and describes what it does, it also must disclose any risks, warnings, and potential side effects associated with that drug. This restriction has led many drug manufacturers to either skirt the issue by using only the name of the drug on the air with a vague "see your doctor for details" or opt for use of print ads.
New ad includes side effects
The first minute of the Depo Provera spot uses a traditional advertising approach, highlighting women in various phases of their reproductive life, with the tag line, "Be sure of your plans. Be sure of your birth control."
After describing the effectiveness of the drug and instructing women to ask their physicians or call a toll-free number for more information, an announcer says, "Some women do experience side effects. The most common are irregular menstrual bleeding, cessation of menstruation, and weight gain. You shouldn’t be using it if you are pregnant or have breast cancer, blood clots, liver disease, unexplained vaginal bleeding, or a history of stroke." Side effect information is scrolled down the screen.
Pharmacia and Upjohn has completed a three-week test-market of the ads in Columbus, OH; Kansas City, MO; Nashville, TN; and Seattle.
"As to feedback, it’s too early to tell," says company spokesman Ed Amat. "The main thing we noticed is that the 800 number generated more calls in less amount of time than in a print campaign. When we tally the results, we’ll see if this was a good thing or not."
By raising awareness of the injectable contraceptive, Pharmacia and Upjohn hopes to expand its use among American women. While the company recorded 1996 worldwide sales of $206 million ($167 million in 1995),2 the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth tabulates use of Depo Provera in only 2% of American women.3 The 1996 Ortho Birth Control Study reports 3% of women use the injectable contraceptive.4
Since the method is fairly new to American women, many may be unfamiliar with it, surmises JoAnn Woodward, RNC, BSN, NP, a nurse practitioner at Seaside Women’s Services in Manhattan Beach, CA, a private practice.
"It’s still the least-known-about method in women over 35," she says. "I think the adolescents have learned about it, but in the women who haven’t really had a birth control education session in quite a while, I think it’s a little bit less known."
The power of television
The move to television advertising may be a more effective way to reach those women who are in the midst of raising families and don’t keep up with the popular women’s magazines, says Woodward. A woman with two toddlers might glance at a television advertisement but miss out on a print advertisement if she doesn’t have time or money to purchase and read a magazine.
Will listing side effects on the television screen cause undue alarm? "People are concerned, I think, with Depo Provera, [since] here is more information in the press about what the side effects are," Woodward says. "They have to realize those are often the very same side effects of the Pill."
References
1. Wells M. Ads for injectable birth control drug hit TV. USA Today, July 9, 1997.
2. Ono Y, Burton TM. Pharmacia breaks new ground with ad. Wall Street Journal, July 9, 1997:B6.
3. Abma JC, Chandra A, Mosher WD, et al. Fertility, family planning, and women’s health: New data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 1997; 23(19).
4. Ortho Pharmaceutical Co. 1996 Annual Birth Control Study. Raritan, NJ; 1996.
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