Pop-Up Video: E.D. Advertisements

FOR YEARS, ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION was one of those hush-hush ailments that had no place on the airwaves. As time has passed and various social taboos have been lifted, it now seems that every other ad on television deals with what is apparently the single greatest medical crisis of the modern age.

Some companies sneak around what their product does, preferring not to offend anyone, while others bludgeon the viewer with innuendo and Broadway tunes, possibly rankling some but certainly entertaining more.

Here, we examine the commercial advertising methods each of the major E.D. drug companies have taken, looking at four main points: the advertising angle they've chosen; their ads' enduring image; whether you can tell what's being advertised if the TV's been muted; and how effective the ads are in the end.

From smooth-jazz soundtracks to boisterous Elvis covers, hand holding and nuzzling to wild neighborhood block parties, each company has its own way of tiptoeing around this socially sensitive, but highly lucrative, issue.

CIALIS

» The Angle:
Cialis takes the safe route, straying away from any innuendo or double entendres and instead choosing to rock the viewer into some sort of relationship fantasy world, one in which couples apparently spend their time touching each other's faces while having coffee and taking their baths in separate adjoining tubs. Cialis seems to imply that waiting room music, candlelit dinners and reclining in hammocks are activities that can only be enjoyed when you know you're getting laid directly afterward.

» Enduring Image:
Why is that couple taking a bath in separate tubs? They appear in every Cialis ad, so there must be some hidden implication that hasn't revealed itself yet. Has their relationship deteriorated to the point that they can't even stand to share the same bathwater? Or do they have some sort of symmetry fetish? How does Cialis factor into either of those situations? Answers are needed.

» The Mute Test:
With no innuendo to tip anyone off the slightest bit, one could assume the commercial is for a variety of things, although the blips of "As little as thirty minutes for some men"; and "Up to 36 hours" could be instructions for the installation and enjoyment of the hammock in the ad.

» Effectiveness:
Not seeking to offend anyone seems to be working in Cialis' favor, as the pill has steadily gained in popularity since it's release in 2003. While Cialis appears to be cornering the market on couples who like to lay around and smile a lot, its potentially missing out lecherous older men who just want to womanize again.

LEVITRA

» The Angle:
Rather than stick to one angle and milk it, Levitra uses the riskier but occasionally effective Juggernaut method, bombarding the airwaves with ads featuring a different angle each time, in the hopes that one of them will stick. One goes for the Cialis-patented snuggling-with-my-wife angle, which is a tried and true tack. Another goes the opposite way, showing a disappointed woman lying awake in bed while a man sits up, rubbing his face and sighing. Yet another ad manages to keep the angles by specifically targeting men with high cholesterol or diabetes. Suffice to say, Levitra's covering their bases.

» Enduring Image:
For those who like some innuendo with their medical ailments, one ad features a man unable to throw a football through a tire swing. That is, of course, until he begins flinging the football through the swing with such powerful frequency his wife can't bear to be away from him and leads him inside, presumably to either have sex with him or to tell him he really needs to find some friends to play football with.

» Mute Test:
Hard to say, with such a large field to draw on, but it should be noted that the ad with the unsatisfied, disappointed woman and glaringly unfulfilling man could be misconstrued as an advertisement for an Oxygen Network original movie.

» Effectiveness:
Since Levitra offers pretty much the same product with the same effects as E.D. giant Viagra, there is a need to ram their brand into the heads of men, and the Juggernaut method is usually effective in doing so. However, Levitra remains a distant third in sales to Viagra and Cialis, and might need to start thinking about the lucrative world of Hollywood product placement (the next "Die Hard" sequel maybe?).

VIAGRA

» The Angle:
Viagra has been around so long, it's naturally already cycled through the methods of advertising that Cialis and Levitra have offered. That's caused its marketers go in a new, original direction in recent years, shooting for an over-the-top-fun angle that insinuates that taking Viagra will cause you to sing, dance, jump and possibly start a blues rock band dedicated to Viagra-themed Elvis covers. The "Viva Viagra" campaign essentially takes the man-woman intimacy variable out of the equation and simplifies the point of the drug for the men taking it: You're getting laid again; isn't that fantastic?

» Enduring Image:
In one ad, as men run and jump down the street in slow-motion, eventually breaking out into a neighborhood dance party to the tune of "We Are the Champions," there's a shot of a man doing a jublilant wheelie in his wheelchair. May no stone be left unturned.

» Mute Test:
Interestingly enough, it's tough to tell what's being advertised even with the music on. In the case of the Viagra blues band, muting the television turns the ad into a possible promotion for an upcoming Allman Brothers tour.

» Effectiveness:
Sometimes guys just want to get laid, and pushing that angle to the extreme seems like a smart way to go. Since Viagra remains the runaway leader in E.D. drug sales, it appears that approach is working, and it doesn't look like anything's going to knock Viagra off its perch.

Written by Express contributor Paul Vivari
Screen grab courtesy Eli Lilly