• Ad Age, Tuesday, May 2, 2006 11:45 AM

Pharmaceutical marketer Bayer is turning to traditional advertising vehicles--television and radio--to advertise its Aleve pain reliever, but the ads they are running are anything but ordinary. In an unusual strategy, the company will run 31 different TV spots over a period of 31 days featuring 31 different people. The campaign was shot documentary-style and coincides with National Arthritis Month, said Jay Kolpon, vice president-marketing for Bayer Consumer Care. "We think we're making TV history," he said. The campaign also has a dedicated Web site but does not include any print ads. Also, the group of people profiled in the spots includes a mix of ordinary people and celebrities, such as retired National Football League star Jerry Rice. "We hope that the story of a role model like Jerry Rice will encourage people with arthritis to feel optimistic about their lives and know that there are effective treatment options available," Mr. Kolpon said. The TV ads will run on all major networks in various dayparts on programs such as NBC's "Today Show," CBS's "CSI" and ABC's "World News Tonight." Radio ads will run on national radio networks, such as CBS, and the campaign also features Internet ads on major health Web sites.

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