• The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, September 2, 2008 11:45 AM

Pfizer's new television ad for Lipitor features heart-attack survivor John Erlendson, a 58-year-old talent agent in California who learned of the campaign when news of Pfizer's search for a testimonial subject crossed his desk. The spot, which breaks today, follows a half-year advertising hiatus for the anti-cholesterol drug following claims of misleading ads featuring Robert Jarvik, the inventor of an artificial heart.

This time around, Pfizer felt that using an average guy, someone with a story similar to that of many other baby boomers, struck the right chord. "When we did testing with consumers, what we found out was John really resonated with them," says Jim Sage, senior director and leader of the Lipitor marketing team at Pfizer.

The new campaign comes amid pressure on Lipitor, the world's best-selling prescription drug, from generic competition. It is feeling heat from health plans promoting the use of cheaper, generic versions of other cholesterol drugs. It stands to lose protection against generic copies in the U.S. in 2011, and has been facing a tough market without a big ad campaign for most of the year.

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