Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is going to dramatic lengths to get consumers thinking about the challenges of Meningitis B.
Rather than pepper Lifetime’s TV schedule with traditional ads about the disease, GSK has commissioned a short film on the subject, in which actor Soleil Moon Frye talks to parents and experts. Her efforts will show up in a three-minute vignette that appears during certain Lifetime movies; a 17-minute film made available via a bespoke digital site; and in “snackable” lengths via social and other venues. Melissa Joan Hart, who was, like Frye, a popular child actor and is a regular in Lifetime’s movies, will also appear in the vignettes, which will appear on digital outlets first and then on the cable network starting June 25.
“This isn’t a manufactured moment,” says Maura O’Donovan, vice president of ad sales partnerships at A+E Networks, in an interview. “It really is something that is authentic.” Viewers of the Lifetime movies that contain the promotion will be told at the programs’ start that they contain a new short film that will be presented as part of the show.
The vignette, shot in the style of a news or documentary report, marks Lifetime’s latest attempt to surprise its viewers with advertiser-backed content meant to be as compelling or entertaining as the programs that attracted them in the first place. In 2021, Lifetime ran a vignette devoted to showcasing Procter & Gamble’s Olay. “A Merry & Bright Makeover” features Monique Coleman, who has starred in Disney’s “High School Musical” and was featured during the premiere of Lifetime’s “A Christmas Dance Reunion.” In 2020. , the A+E Networks-backed cable outlet showcased a 15 minute “mini-movie” that starred actor Mario Lopez as KFC scion Col. Harland Sanders. The steamy short poked fun at the network’s famous soapy dramas.
Trying to do the same for a pharmaceutical company brings with it new challenges. The new vignette for Glaxo needs to make clear that people are being paid for their appearances. Many ads for drugs often contain disclaimers, and, if necessary, information about potential complications and side effects. While Glaxo manufacturers a vaccine called Bexsero that can be used to treat meningitis B, the drug’s name isn’t mentioned in the commercial vignette — just the disease and its symptoms. The aim in most promotions like these is to get consumers to go to a doctor to ask more questions, and if applicable, get a prescription.
“It was a journey for all of us,” says Jennifer Ferguson, vice president if brand partnerships creative for A+E Networks. “We wanted to create something that women would watch, remember and share with their friends.”
The vignette, entitled “I Never Thought to Ask: A Mom’s Quest for Answers” depicts Frye talking to a medical professional, and individuals and families affected by the disease, all the while learning about important questions parents can ask their teen’s doctor. The short film is available at mylifetime.com/Ask2BSure, and will begin airing on Lifetime Sunday, June 25 at noon eastern. A+E Networks helped make Hart available for the project.
Lifetime continues to pursue new advertising concepts as viewers’ tolerance for interruption of their favorite pieces of content has begun to ebb. Streaming-video venues like Netflix, Disney Plus and Hulu allow subscribers to watch their favorites with fewer ads — and in many cases none. If advertisers can come up with commercial concepts that are as compelling as the programming they barge in upon, so the thinking goes, they might get consumers to pay more attention than has become the norm.