Boehringer Ingelheim’s Ofev takes #FierceMadness ad championship

In a back-and-forth final matchup, Boehringer Ingelheim’s ad campaign for Ofev pulled away from GlaxoSmithKline’s Trelegy to land the #FierceMadness ad tournament crown.

By a vote of 4,225-2,181, the Ofev campaign, built around the story of a boxer and his father who has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,  won on emotional strength and the power of Boehringer Ingelheim to get the word out to vote.

That’s in part because the Ofev ad only ran on addressable TV—including DirecTV and Comcast—from January through March. Some voters said they could not find the ad online, but that’s because BI’s campaign was a focused digital streaming effort that didn’t extend to searchable online media.

Those who did see the work noted the emotional effectiveness of the ad, the IPF journey and the connection to family. One person wrote, "It is about the patient journey—and with IPF it is not a journey that the patient embarks on alone. Family is affected also." Another said, "Greater need! First to build awareness about a RARE, but rising disease state! Great visuals and appeals to the senses!"

Some votes for Ofev were also votes against the polarizing jingle "Easy as 1,2,3" play on Jackson Five tune for Trelegy. One commenter said, "Catchy as it may be, it's a canned song vs original content that invokes sympathy/empathy.... Humanity is the winner here."

Thanks to all of this year's voters, and especially those who offered their perspective in the comment sections. #FierceMadness will be back next February with an all-new NCAA-style tournament—stay tuned!

Register as Visitor to CPhI China 2019!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor's Note:

To apply for becoming a contributor of En-CPhI.cn,

welcome to send your CV and sample works to us,

Email: Julia.Zhang@ubmsinoexpo.com.