If you’ve been reading The LIFT for a while, you know about my obsession with menopause. So many things to talk about when it comes to this stage of life from social stigma to health implications to workplace equality.
It’s fascinating.
But, WOW!
Did you happen to catch the 30-second commercial on menopause during the Super Bowl last week?
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DOLLARS AND SENSE
I’ll admit, I’m not much of a football fan, but I do enjoy watching the Super Bowl - especially the commercials + half-time show.
I’ve been a sucker for marketing communications for years. At the turn of the century, 1999-2001, I was running a consulting firm that specialized in marketing to women. We developed training programs for businesses that were experiencing a shift in their customer base from primarily male to primarily female.
At that time, it was becoming widely known that women represented 85% of consumer spending. To get in on the action, a lot of companies were making pink versions of their products to attract more female consumers, but were fast realizing it just wasn’t quite cutting it.
Turns out - Effective sales + marketing strategies for men + women are very different. You really need to cater your approach + language if you want to be effective closing the deal.
At that time, many industries that had traditionally been male-driven were feeling the impact of this shift in their primary customer from men to women - everything from cars to financial services to home improvement, and yes, sports.
I remember reading about the NFL at the time. They were just waking up to the fact that over half of their audience was female.
So were their advertisers.
Super Bowl ads for most of my lifetime were geared toward men, but we’ve all watched that change in the last twenty years.
Still, when I saw the ad about menopause air at the top of the lineup on Sunday, WOW! That was historic! (Or should I say herstoric?)
If you missed it, you can watch it below. And - while you’re watching it, ask yourself…
What is this commercial selling?
I’ll fill you in on some fun facts when you’re done.
If you don’t have 30 seconds for the commercial, I’ll give you a quick rundown.
The ad features a gal on the streets, asking a variety of middle-aged women, “What’s VMS?” No one seems to know the answer + the ad ultimately points viewers to WhatsVMS.com to learn more.
Of course, watching the ad on YouTube, you can see the source pretty quickly, but when watching it air on Super Bowl Sunday, you had no idea who was behind the ad or what they were selling. The product is not mentioned. In fact, they don’t seem to be selling anything? Just providing education, right? Come to our website, gives us your email + learn more.
When you visit the website, you get your answer:
Hot flashes and night sweats due to menopause have a medical name—they are called Vasomotor Symptoms, or VMS for short.
Turns out this ad is part of a campaign funded by Astrellas Pharma. The company has a new non-hormonal therapy (fezolinetant) for hot flashes that they expect to be approved on February 22, 2022. This week! Super Bowl was perfect timing to get this ad in front of the millions watching - especially those of us who might be of a ‘certain age’.
MIXED EMOTIONS
There is so much to unpack with this commercial, but it’s such a great example of where we are at with women’s health + well-being.
Stealth Marketing
Because the company is not actually selling anything in this ad, they get around the requirement to disclose potential side effects that pharmaceutical companies must include in advertising. Clever, right?
Somewhere down the road, I’m sure we will hear the more traditional ads for this drug - listing the dozens of potential side effects, but for now, what a clever way to get around all of that + connect directly with women BEFORE even hitting the market.
It’s also ‘clever’ how they are positioning VMS as something no one knows about, when everyone knows about ‘hot flashes’. Something about using the medical term to draw people in + create curiosity - BEYOND clever!
Market Recognition
That said, menopause market + menopause drug + Super Bowl? $$$
It’s fascinating to look at the money being spent on just this one product. Mind-boggling, actually. Clearly, they are expecting to make some serious bank on this.
With the number of menopausal women worldwide estimated to reach 1.1 billion by 2025 - we are finally getting some long-overdue attention as a market. I remember back in the day (actually not that long ago) Nielsen Ratings didn’t even track women over 54. Can you imagine?
Today the menopause market is estimated to be $600 billion. You can bet we will be seeing ALL kinds of products + services as investors scramble to capitalize on this massive + underserved market.
What’s Missing?
As exciting as it is to see this demographic finally have recognition, it’s also incredibly frustrating that this ultimately puts the onus on us - this demographic.
This new drug is just one example. We’re not getting full disclosure + once the drug hits the market WE will be the ones to test it all in scale. So, we have to sleuth around to learn more, ask questions, find answers + ultimately trust someone or ourselves until we get enough data to actually make an educated choice about treatment.
It’s also mind-boggling to consider the amount of money being spent on a drug to address one symptom vs. helping women understand the root cause + how to improve health to minimize menopausal symptoms. This is all stuff we just have to figure out on our own.
At the same time, while we add stuff like this to our list of things to do, we are expected to keep the pace of our lives, our work, family demands + maintain a youthful appearance. Ah, the juggling act!
SELF RECOGNITION
As women, we have to recognize that we are a massive market. We have to read between the lines on marketing targeted at us. We have to understand the gaps in research + education provided to medical professionals - especially surrounding menopause.
It’s a lot.
That said - we are up for it. We are building bridges in the gaps.
This is why cross-generational conversations are so important. It’s why sharing experiences is so crucial. It’s why breaking stigmas is so necessary. It’s why conversations like this matter.
And, if we fully recognized our consumer power, especially during this time of transition in both the market + our lives, just imagine what we could do.
It’s actually pretty exciting. We are moving the needle. We are connected in ways we have never been connected before with new technology + tools. More + more women are speaking up to share their experiences + break the stigmas. Women are starting businesses + services to close the gaps + provide solutions. And, women are recognizing their role as advocates - both for themselves + each other.
I don’t know if you have stopped to think about any of this, but I just had to share. There’s so much to dig into, but I hope this helps you see things from a slightly different vantage point. Next time you have one of those moments of overwhelm or perhaps a “Very Malicious Sweat” - just know, you’re not alone.
We are a powerful mass.
And, sure, we may not know what VMS is (apparently no one does), but we DO know who holds the purse strings.
YOUR MISSION:
This week, I challenge you to use the word ‘menopause’ out loud in a conversation with someone. I don’t care how old you are or what your gender is. Use this post as a jumping-off point or read one of the articles below + let it spark a conversation. Or share a thought or comment here with us.
It’s about SO much more than hot flashes.
RESOURCES:
READ: It’s “fezo” for short | HotFlashInc
READ: 73% Of Women Don’t Treat Their Menopause Symptoms | Forbes
READ: Suffering in Silence: The Biases and Data Gaps of Menopause | Female Founders Fund
READ: Narrative change: VCs are finally ready to talk about menopause | PitchBook
READ: The North American Menopause Society Position Statements
READ: Menopause Unveils Itself As The Next Big Opportunity In Femtech | Forbes
IN SUMMARY:
I’d love to hear from you with any thoughts, experiences or symptoms that this topic brings up for you - maybe something you remember about your own menopause transition that you’d like to share or something you are experiencing right now that you wish you could find an easy solution for.
Just hit reply. Let’s chat!
See you next week?
Meanwhile - you can read thru the archives here. And, please reach out to me anytime!
Email: karen@becounter.com
Instagram: @redefiningkaren
I really enjoyed this article! I didn't watch the superbowl this year, just some of the commercials. I missed this one, probably because it didn't pop up in the "best of" lists. As someone who suffers from “Very Malicious Sweat” I found this very interesting. Having studied mass communications in college, I enjoyed your points about this sneaky advertising technique even more interesting.
Lastly, I misread one of the last lines of the article, but found it very appropriate for me and had to share: "We are a very powerful mEss."