| The Super Bowl is once again getting the GLP-1 ad treatment. |
| Hims & Hers is back with another combative spot that calls out the disparities in healthcare experiences between the rich and, well, the rest of us. The company positions itself as the great equalizer, able to bring care typically reserved for wealthier patients (like microdosed GLP-1 weight loss drugs and preventive cancer screenings) to the
masses. |
| But it’s Ro’s Super Bowl ad debut — and a fascinating blog from its CEO about the commercial’s cost and potential benefits — that I want to talk about. Ro’s campaign stars Serena Williams, who shares her progress using a GLP-1 drug through Ro: "34 pounds down," "healthier," and "moving better," she says, as she injects
the medicine into her arm and dances on a blue platform. (Williams’ husband, Reddit CEO Alexis Ohanian, is a Ro investor and board member.) |
| In the blog post last week, Ro CEO Zachariah Reitano talked about why the company decided the pricy ad was worth it. He said he wrote the post because people tend to think such ads are "extravagant or irrational." |
| According to Reitano, 30-second Super Bowl ads cost anywhere from $9 million to $16 million, when considering the cost to produce it and run it during the game. Companies that buy the ads are required to spend an equivalent amount to run it on other network programs, so Ro’s spot will also run during NBC’s Winter Olympics broadcast. All in, companies typically commit up to $23 million, he said. |
| It’s a pretty chunk of change, but with big upside. It could reach more than 100 million people, drive an immediate influx of new customers, lower the company's customer acquisition costs, and make it more likely that people sign up when they see a future Ro ad. |
| The bet is probably a safe one. Direct-to-consumer telehealth companies have been prolific advertisers on social media, TV, podcasts, you name it — and it’s worked. Millions of patients are buying GLP-1 drugs with cash instead of insurance. This week, Novo Nordisk officials said cash-pay makes up around 30% of prescriptions for the Wegovy shot. Eli Lilly said about a third of new patients who start on an obesity drug choose the cash-pay Zepbound vials. That’s to say nothing of what’s likely millions of people buying compounded GLP-1s (which Hims sells, but not
Ro). |
| With the Super Bowl ads, the cash-pay market stands to grow even bigger. And Hims today announced that it's launching compounded Wegovy pills — stay tuned for more on that. Which companies will be the biggest beneficiaries of that growth remains to be seen. |
| - Shelby |
| P.S. - I’m heading to DC next week for the ASTP Annual Meeting. Let me know if you’ll be there! |
