Chocolate, schmocolate - Pfizer says this Valentine's Day, Viagra is better, even going so far as to exchange veteran Viagra pitchman Bob Dole for a younger image and target audience.
The Viagra maker is pitching to become "the official sponsor of Valentine's Day," says the New York Post, buying television and magazine ads saying couples can have a better time with the little blue potency pill.
Going for an approach even more tongue-in-cheek for younger customers than that taken by Dole, they've replaced the 76-year-old former Senate Majority Leader and Presidential candidate.
The new pitch begins Feb. 2 with spots on network and cable television alike, with magazine ads to appear in forthcoming news weeklies. The TV spot shows a 40-something man snuggling and then coming on to his wife in the kitchen, presumably after taking Viagra, the Post says. The only message - an onscreen text saying, "This February 14…be sweet…be playful…be my Valentine," the paper says.
Pfizer isn't saying yet why it decided to gun for a younger audience, although they took a public relations hit when several older men using Viagra suffered heart attacks. Analysts tell the Post, however, that two rival companies are due to hit the market soon with competition for Viagra, while Pfizer might also think the romantic approach will also cut down on the gags and public criticisms of its former clinical approach.
"I like the way Pfizer's trying to be more spicy and have some fun with it," David Goetzl, who broke the story in Advertising Age, tells the Post. "Pfizer also knows it's a good time to take stock of where you are in your relationship."
