Both women and the word “erection” have been conspicuously absent from Viagra’s advertising — until BBDO’s most recent ad for Pfizer’s erectile dysfunction medication, that is.
A new spot features a woman with a British accent giving men an idea of what erectile dysfunction is like from the partner’s point of view. “It’s just you and your honey, the setting is perfect,” she begins, with beach scenery in the background. “You know what, plenty of guys have this issue, not just getting an erection but keeping it,” she goes on, sounding a bit like a partner reassuring a man having troubled in the bedroom. She goes on to offer Viagra as the solution (and says “erection” again), while touting it as something you only take when you need it. “If ED is stopping what you started, ask your doctor about Viagra,” she concludes, before the list of health risks is accompanied by a barrage of ridiculous phallic imagery, including flag poles, a ship’s mast off in the distance, a long pier extending into the ocean, etc.
It’s definitely a change in approach for Viagra, whose advertising previously avoided discussing erectile dysfunction directly (and explicitly the word “erection”). Perhaps the new approach is a sign that people are ready for more direct discussions about the issue, rather than the insinuations of past ads. Still, despite the new direction, the spot still comes across as somewhat awkward in tone and the phallic imagery at its conclusion seems a bit overkill. Then again, this isn’t a category that has seen any non-awkward advertising, so maybe we should just be thankful that there aren’t his and her bathtubs.