ORTHO ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE EDUCATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN SET AT $3.4 MIL

Executive Summary

ORTHO ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE EDUCATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN SET AT $3.4 MIL. through 1988. Nearly $1 mil. has been spent in the first wave of television and print ads launched Oct. 30. The ads are scheduled to run in 19 major newspapers and magazines as well as on 16 local TV stations. The "Truthrumor" ad campaign will appear in five newspapers: USA Today, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and New York Times. Among the magazines carrying the ad are Newsweek, Life, and Rolling Stone. With the exception of the fashion magazine Elle, the ad was accepted by all publications that were approached, according to a press release. Sixteen local TV stations in 12 cities, including San Francisco, Washington and Detroit are planning to broadcast the contraceptive ad. The three national networks, however, declined to run the ad. While discussing pros and cons of the birth control pill, the print ad does not note brand names. In addition, Ortho is mentioned only at the bottom of the page: "A message from the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals through an educational grant from Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation." The ad does not qualify as product-specific, like Sandoz' recent Tavist-1 ad, or as institutional, like campaigns run by Pfizer and Merrell Dow. The "Truthrumor" headline in the print ad is complemented by a subhead that says, "When the topic is the Pill, they're hard to separate." The ad highlights the availability of lower dose contraceptives, noting that "the Pill is actually many pills." The ad continues: "Since its introduction in 1960, it's evolved from one high dosage product into many much lower in dosage. From 150 mcgs. of estrogen in 1960, down to 35 or less today." Ortho has marketed a low dose triphasic oral contraceptive, Ortho-Novum 7/7/7 since May of 1984.