Ad on Fighting HIV Draws Mixed Reaction : Marketing: The campaign supported by Burroughs Wellcome, which makes AZT, is intended to offer hope for those coping with the AIDS virus. But some question its motive.
An ad campaign by the maker of the anti-AIDS drug AZT is causing divisions within the gay community as well as the advertising industry.
Behind the estimated $2-million campaign, which began appearing this month in mainstream and gay publications in eight American cities including Los Angeles, is Burroughs Wellcome Co. The company makes AZT, or azidothymidine, the only antiviral drug licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of AIDS. But some gay activists have long accused Burroughs Wellcome of overcharging for the drug--and want nothing to do with its ad.
Although the ad does not specifically promote AZT, it does list a toll-free number to call for information on how to live with HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus. HIV destroys the body’s defenses against disease. That number is to an independent national AIDS hot line in New York. Burroughs Wellcome is keeping tabs on how many calls are logged.
The ad itself looks like a public service ad aimed at those who fear they are infected with the AIDS virus. The name Burroughs Wellcome appears only in tiny print at the very bottom of the page. And the drug AZT is not mentioned at all.
Some national and local gay rights groups strongly support the campaign and have even signed on to the ad. Others refused to be a part of it because they believe that the company overcharges for AZT. A year’s worth of the drug can cost up to $3,000 a year for the dosage recommended by public health officials.
In the meantime, reaction to this campaign could help determine how Burroughs Wellcome--and other advertisers--approach the gay community in the future.
“You have to look at the end result,” said Kathy S. Bartlett, manager of media relations at Burroughs Wellcome, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. “If there is one person infected with HIV (the AIDS virus) and this ad campaign encourages them to get tested and maybe get treatment with AZT, than that person, the gay community and Burroughs all benefit.”
The medical community is also watching with interest. “It’s clever marketing,” said Dr. Neil Schram, a member of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn. AIDS Commission. “After all, what is advertising all about? It’s trying to put a product into the hands of people who want it or need it.”
But one well-known Los Angeles ad man strongly disagrees. “I think it borders on tacky if the end result of the ad is to sell more AZT,” said Stan Freberg, president of Stan Freberg Ltd. and an advertising commentator on CBS radio in Los Angeles. “It’s like some guy saying, ‘Next time you have cancer, try Acme chemotherapy.’ ”
In some ways, the AIDS campaign created by the New York ad firm Lavey/Wolff/Swift is similar to another subtly toned campaign that the makers of the anti-baldness drug, Rogaine, introduced last January. Those ads, which suggested that people concerned with hair loss see their doctors, did not mention Rogaine or its active ingredient, minoxidil. But the ads did mention the name Upjohn Co., the maker of the drug.
Why aren’t these drug makers naming the drugs they sell? Well, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not permit any mention of drugs in ads unless there is also full disclosure of potential side effects. For drugs like AZT and Rogaine, that could require pages of additional information.
At issue with the Burroughs Wellcome campaign is more than what is being advertised. It is the company behind the message that is causing dissension within the gay community.
“In 1985, I found out I was HIV positive. I thought it was over,” says a headline above a distraught-looking man featured in one of Burroughs Wellcome’s print ads. Below is a picture of the same man smiling, next to this explanation: “People are finding ways to stay healthier, strengthen their immune systems, develop positive attitudes.”
The ad not only appeared in gay publications like the Advocate, but also major daily newspapers like the Los Angeles Times and New York Times. Although most gay publications that were approached accepted the ad, several did not. Outlook, a quarterly gay and lesbian journal in San Francisco, rejected the ad basically because Burroughs Wellcome was behind it.
But the nation’s largest gay publication, the Los Angeles-based Advocate, will run the full-page ad 12 times during the next 24 weeks. “When I saw the long list of co-sponsors, I figured it’s not up to us to second-guess these guys,” said John Knoebel, president of Liberation Publications, which publishes the Advocate. “One way to look at this is that Burroughs is finally giving something back to the gay community.”
Indeed, the Advocate stands to take in nearly $18,000 in advertising revenue from the campaign.
Likewise, some groups that are supporting the campaign have also profited from their association with Burroughs Wellcome. The Los Angeles Shanti Foundation, a nonprofit support group primarily for people with HIV, received a $15,000 education grant from Burroughs Wellcome this year.
“They really do seem committed to education,” said Daniel Warner, executive director of Shanti Foundation. “They’ve given millions of dollars in funding to AIDS education. We really have to give them the opportunity to prove themselves.”
But others that were contacted by Burroughs Wellcome declined to sign on.
“It is our policy not to do any business with Burroughs until they bring down the price of AZT,” said Andrew Weisser, director of communications at AIDS Project Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization that offers a variety of services to people with HIV. “We just can’t be a part of a campaign with a company that has done so much damage.”
