Alli Campaign Seeks To "Drive Behavior Change," Stresses Healthy Choices

GlaxoSmithKline's back-to-the-basics advertising for alli educates consumers about how the weight-loss drug works and the importance of healthy eating and exercise.

The recently launched campaign also harkens to the orlistat 60 mg pill's advertising roots by addressing negative "treatment effects."

Two commercials that broke Dec. 27 and recent print ads attempt to "drive behavior change" that will help consumers avoid "treatment effects," like anal leakage, if they eat too much fat in one meal, by showing how to make healthy eating decisions that significantly reduce fat intake, said Amardeep Kahlon, the brand's marketing director in the U.S.

One spot shows a consumer skipping a large latte in favor of a smaller, low-fat one while a voiceover says the switch will cut about 12 grams of fat. The other tells consumers if they "go from a croissant with butter to a whole wheat roll with olive oil you'll go from roughly 16 grams of fat to about six."

Alli's new ad campaign emphasizes the importance of healthy eating and exercise in combination with the weight-loss drug.

The bread ad explains taking alli will reduce the fat users' bodies absorb by blocking about 25% of the fat consumed. The print ads echo this message and underscore the importance of healthy decisions.

While none of the ads directly discusses the risk of embarrassing bowel-related effects, almost all direct viewers to visit myalli.com, where the risk is prominently discussed "in a more distinct [way] than it has ever been," Kahlon said.

"The campaign has a real focus on how alli works," and seeks to "educate and enlighten" consumers about the choices they can make and how those choices relate to how alli works, he said. He added a main goal of the campaign is to help "consumers get the best out of alli without seeing some of the treatment effects that high- fat diets can cause."

The website, revamped for the ad campaign, explains the fat that alli blocks the body from absorbing "is harmlessly passed through your bowels," which may cause "some bowel changes during the first few weeks of use. These treatment effects are most likely to occur after taking an alli capsule and eating a meal containing more than 15 grams of fat. Staying below your fat threshold lowers the chance of these treatment effects."

The site also encourages consumers to think about the possible side effects as "reminders from your body that you need to stick to lower-fat foods."

Kahlon said consumers tell the firm they learn from eating fatty food after staring to use alli. "Some consumers tell us what might be deemed as treatment effects almost end up being training tools for them so they can recognize where they had too much fat with a meal and how to avoid that in the future."

Ads Return To Considering The Decision

Like the latest ads, Glaxo's campaign for alli's 2007 launch focused in part on encouraging consumers to consider whether they will follow the usage protocol before they buy the product. Possible negative side effects were one factor driving that approach (Also see "Alli Users Show Self-Motivation Works Best, Side Effects Are “Positive”" - Pink Sheet, 3 Dec, 2007.).

Further, FDA approved alli with a label explaining orlistat blocks absorption of some fat and noting gastrointestinal side effects such as "gas with oily spotting" or "more frequent stools that may be hard to control" may be less frequent if users follow a low-fat diet as directed.

The latest campaign, created by TBWA\Chiat\Day, transitions alli advertising from ads featuring entertainer Wynona Judd, which followed the second generation of ads with consumers talking about their alli experiences (Also see "Glaxo "Shakes Up" Alli Ad Strategy With New Agency" - Pink Sheet, 29 Jun, 2009.).

Also like previous campaigns, the latest print ads emphasize alli is the only FDA-approved OTC weight loss aid. This message seeks to set the drug apart from the "many dizzying pills in the diet category," as characterized in one ad.

The ad further distinguishes alli from dietary supplement competitors by explaining the drug works "in your digestive tract and doesn't affect your head or heart."

Ads Do Not Sugarcoat Consumer Effort

The campaign also takes a "very honest and realistic approach" and presents alli as part of a "trifecta" for change combined with healthy eating and exercise, Kahlon said. The campaign "is not an over- dramatization of the role of alli, but puts it in context of other choices."

Both commercials tell viewers "alli works when you work," and show a person exercising in a cog that is connected to a circle of alli pills and an apple, which symbolize gears that all turn together.

The ads also state, "For every two pounds you work to lose, alli can help you lose one more."

Some of the print ads take this message one more step by qualifying the work as "hard" and defining it as "eating right and exercising."

The campaign further helps consumers by providing an online behavior support program, which was introduced with the product launch and is mentioned in some print ads.

More than 100,000 to 150,000 people use the program at any one point, Kahlon said. The website also offers recipes and diet and exercise tips.

By Elizabeth Crawford