Pfizer Inc.'s Lipitor: The Celebrity Endorsement Controversy
|
|
ICMR HOME | Case Studies Collection
Case Details:
Case Code : MKTG191
Case Length : 23 pages
Period : 2006-2008
Pub Date : 2008
Teaching Note :Not Available
Organization : Pfizer, Inc.
Industry : Pharmaceutical
Countries : USA
To download Pfizer Inc.'s Lipitor: The Celebrity Endorsement Controversy case study
(Case Code: MKTG191) click on the button below, and select the case from the list of available cases:
Price:
For delivery in electronic format: Rs. 400;
For delivery through courier (within India): Rs. 400 + Shipping & Handling Charges extra
» Marketing Case Studies
» Marketing Management Short Case Studies
» View Detailed Pricing Info
» How To Order This Case
» Business Case Studies
Please note:
This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.
Chat with us
Please leave your feedback
|
|
<< Previous
End of a Controversial Campaign Contd...
|
It was also the most widely prescribed drug in the world with sales of US$ 12.7 billion for the year 2007. In fact, Lipitor was the highest selling drug in the history of the pharmaceutical industry.
Its success was attributed to Pfizer's aggressive marketing efforts. Lipitor accounted for about 40 percent of Pfizer's profits, making it strategically very important to the company.6
The controversy over the Lipitor campaign started after it was found that Jarvik was not a cardiologist, that in fact, he wasn't even licensed to practice medicine, and that a body double had been used in some of the ads of the campaign.
|
|
But even after it withdrew the campaign, Pfizer defended its decision to use Jarvik in it, saying that the main aim of the campaign was to educate consumers about the benefits of cholesterol-lowering drugs like Lipitor. Pfizer started the new ad campaign featuring Jarvik in 2006 to ward off competition from the generic manufacturers of cholesterol-lowering drugs like Zocor7 (Simvastatin), one of the main competitors of Lipitor.
|
Pfizer had even earlier faced some other controversies regarding its marketing campaigns for Lipitor. In 2002, it paid US$ 49 million in fines to the US government over charges that it had overcharged Medicaid8 for Lipitor.
It also faced some class action suits that accused the company of deceptive and illegal marketing of Lipitor. Pfizer had started the high-decibel campaign featuring Jarvik in early 2006 to ward off tough competition from generic versions of other leading cholesterol drugs whose patents were scheduled to expire that year. Analysts felt that the campaign was largely successful in maintaining Lipitor's leadership position in the cholesterol drug market. |
But with the campaign re-igniting the debate on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs and also being targeted by politicians as part of a wider investigation into celebrity endorsements of prescription medications in DTC advertising, Pfizer decided to pull it out. The issue also divided marketing experts with many claiming that Pfizer had done nothing wrong by choosing Jarvik as a spokesperson...
Excerpts >>
|
|
