Psoriasis drugs dominated the TV pharma ad landscape in March, as Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya and AbbVie’s Skyrizi secured the top two spots in iSpot.tv’s ad rankings.
The two drugs rose up the list of the top 10 brands and secured the top spots last month, according to data released by iSpot.tv on Friday.
Tremfya achieved an impressions share of voice (SOV) of 3.35%, generating 2.1 billion total impressions. While the brand held the top spot, the total impressions dipped by 2 million from when Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent held the top spot in February.
CBS was also the network that helped Tremfya rise to the top, a shakeup from network ABC, which has been a reliable generator for impressions for pharma brands.
Fittingly, CBS’ broadcasts of men’s college basketball games during March Madness boosted Tremyfa’s advertising efforts.
Notably, Tremfya increased its spending on ads to $32.6 million. This represented a $12 million increase from the previous month, when it held the fifth spot with 1.8 billion impressions.
AbbVie’s Skyrizi as well as Dupixent tied for third place – both achieving an impressions SOV of 3.27% and securing 2 billion impressions.
Interestingly, Skyrizi invested $27.9 million, while Dupixent spent only $20.9 million to achieve the same results.
As expected, ABC was the most popular network for delivering ad impressions to these brands. However, Skyrizi benefited the most from ESPN’s SportsCenter while Dupixent got a boost from ABC World News Tonight with David Muir.
AbbVie’s Rinvoq and Pfizer’s Advil took the fourth and fifth spots on the list, generating 2 billion and 1.5 billion impressions, respectively. There were vastly different spending patterns between the two brands.
Rinvoq spent $29.2 million for an impressions SOV of 3.25%, while Advil spent $6.8 million – one of the lowest spending totals on the list – and generated an impressions SOV of 2.48%.
Rinvoq benefited the most from ABC and syndicated airings of The Big Bang Theory while Advil got a boost from men’s college basketball broadcasts on CBS.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s Rexulti, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, Reckitt’s Mucinex, Bayer’s Claritin and AbbVie’s Vraylar rounded off the top 10 list.
Mucinex spent the least on TV impression ads – investing just $4.3 million for 1.4 billion impressions and an impressions SOV of 2.19%. This is in line with the seasonal end of cold and flu season.
Much like last month, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir delivered the widest reach for TV pharma ads (with a 2.28% impressions SOV) , followed by NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Good Morning America.
Compared to March 2024, the big three cable networks CNN, Fox News and MSNBC all saw an increase in pharma ad impressions. CNN led the way with a 55% year-over-year increase in impressions.
Other cable networks that saw a jump in impressions were the Food Network, up +44% year-over-year, ESPN, up 41%, and HGTV, up 32%.
In addition to The Big Bang Theory, syndicated programs like Gunsmoke and Seinfeld increased the reach for the pharma industry year-over-year between 61% and 142%.
Programs that provided significant yet cost effective reach included The Price is Right, (ranked fourth for reach but 19th for spend); NCIS, (ranked fifth for reach but 24th for spend); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, (ranked seventh for reach but 20th for spend) and The Young and the Restless, (ranked tenth for reach but 28th for spend).
As expected from the hype around March Madness, pharma impressions from women’s college basketball jumped 37% year-over-year, while men’s college basketball impressions were up 14% year-over-year.
As reported by MM+M, engagement during women’s basketball also yielded strong results as ads aired during the 2024 WNBA playoffs were 24% more effective than the average primetime ad, while women’s NCAA tournament ads were 18% more effective.
Last year, pharma was the second-biggest spender in women’s sports behind automotive brands — accounting for 11% of the total spend at $26.2 million, per EDO. AbbVie’s Skyrizi led the way among pharma brands on the list.
“March Madness captured the nation’s attention—and pharma brands took full advantage,” said Scott Swanson, SVP of marketing at iSpot, in a statement. “By aligning with the tournament’s nonstop excitement, they reached large, engaged audiences and extended their exposure to new potential consumers.”
