Pharmaceuticals Company news South Africa

TLC and Cipla tell men The Bald Truth

Supplementing the launch of its anti-balding solution for men, the pharmaceutical giant, Cipla, has commissioned Primedia Unlimited subsidiary, The Letter Corporation, to run a month's advertising campaign in men's washrooms at Virgin Active and Planet Fitness gyms countrywide.

The campaign aims to drive balding men to a professionally run medical website, www.baldtruth.co.za, an information hub that focuses on treatment options to stop hair loss in men. The website also offers the browser the opportunity for a free consultation, via email, with leading specialists in the field of hair restoration, at the South African Hair Foundation.

Due to legislation mandating the restriction on naming scheduled medication in advertisements directed at the general public, Cipla's campaign focuses on directing consumers with receding hairlines to the above-mentioned website through the use of eye-catching posters displaying an image of a worried face of a young balding man, captioned by the quirky, ambiguous pay-off line “Are you turning into your father?”

“Cipla has been a TLC client since 2007. The Bald Truth campaign benchmarks the company as the first advertiser to book washroom space in both the Virgin Active and Planet Fitness Holdings. The Gym Network comprises of 80 Virgin Active Gyms and 15 Planet Fitness Gyms nationally, speaking to an average 500 000 gym goers on a monthly basis,” says TLC's National Sales Manager Lee Curtis.

“Male pattern baldness is often an embarrassing topic for men to broach. However, it is no longer considered a ‘taboo' subject. More and more men seek advice for this common condition which many insensitively joke about. The campaign aims to create awareness amongst men about the simple, cost-effective solution that exists! Cipla has recently launched a product into the South African market that treats male pattern baldness and retails the product at approximately a third of the price of the competitor. The opportunity that this campaign in the men's washrooms at gyms creates is that it allows us to accurately reach the intended target market for this product ie. men who are particular about their physical appearance” says product manager, Beverley Kruse.

Demonstrating the effectiveness of the washroom media in leveraging the campaign, the Bald Truth website reports that on 16th February, it had received over 700 hits.

The Letter Corporation introduced the concept of washroom advertising to the South African market in 1996, and has since become the sole player in this media arena. Maximising the element of surprise, The Letter Corporation brings brands closer to their consumers through communications that captivate and entertain.

For more on TLC, visit www.primedia-unlimited.co.za

TLC
Lee Curtis
National Sales Manager
T: + 27 11 562 6666



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