• by Tanya Gazdik , January 27, 2010

McKesson Corp.'s Health Mart is launching a five-week TV blitz starring real pharmacists. The campaign breaks Jan. 31 during the Grammy Awards and runs during the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and the Academy Awards.

Created by Avrett Free Ginsberg (AFG), pharmacists in Vernon, Texas, and New York City relay true stories about how they have impacted their local communities by taking the time to care and provide special services such as diabetes counseling and testing.

The TV spots are an extension of Health Mart's recent "Health Across America" campaign -- a combination of national screening events, PR and social media. It includes three 30-second spots, a 15-second spot and a 10-second spot.

The campaign also includes outdoor, since the focus is all about locally owned, community-minded Health Mart pharmacists and the personal service, clinical expertise and community-minded caring they deliver. Every element of the campaign uses a drive-to-site call to action to find a locally owned Health Mart, so online and the Health Mart Web site also will play a role.

Independent pharmacy network Health Mart has grown 850% during the past four years in all 50 states. The spike in franchisees has been driven by community pharmacists signing on for the branding, advertising, and wholesale pricing to compete with big chains.

The campaign will air in 77 local markets nationwide. Beyond the Grammys, the media buy will include multiple TV spots during the Super Bowl on CBS, about 15 units during NBC's broadcast of the Winter Olympic Games from Vancouver and two units in the Academy Awards telecast on ABC on March 7. The entire country will receive an additional five-week blanket of TV spots on networks including CBS, NBC, HGTV, TLC, USA, A&E, Fox News, Style, TNT, Lifetime and Food Network, says Bob Piwinski, executive group account director at AFG.

"Smart media buying will reach specific regions of the U.S. that represent high concentrations of the communities in which the 2,500 Health Mart pharmacies currently operate in today," Piwinski tells Marketing Daily.

All footage was shot on location with the pharmacists playing themselves. "It was important to all of us to use as many real elements in the shoot as possible," says AFG Creative Director Alex Bloom. "The main point we're trying to communicate with Health Mart Town is that no matter where you are -- whether that's a small town in Texas, or a big city like New York City, and anything in between -- a locally owned Health Mart Pharmacy turns any place into a Health Mart Town."

Shot by director Andrews Jenkins of Go Films, the spots are black-and-white, with the Health Mart signage the only color element.