• by Les Luchter , Staff Writer, Yesterday

An outdoor ad campaign from a new dermatology telehealth platform titled “Do As You’re Told” couldn't help but remind me of the ominous “OBEY” signs that haunted the protagonist in John Carpenter’s classic film, “They Live.” But, unlike in that sci-fi example, you don’t need special sunglasses to view the messages from Methodiq (pronounced as in “methodic”).

Some examples:

“In a world of ‘you do you,’ it’s time to do as you're told.”

“We prescribe. You comply”

“We don’t suggest. We prescribe.”

Such topdown dictates certainly run counter to the prevailing winds of patient empowerment, where consumers are now expected to call their own shots in medical treatment. So I asked Methodiq CEO Tom Amsterdam about this d  unusual marketing approach.

“’Do As You’re Told’ is intentionally bold and counter to today’s ‘do whatever you want’ culture,” he told me. “Skincare has become a maze of conflicting advice, DIY routines, and TikTok hacks that rarely work. Once someone chooses Methodiq and receives a personalized, doctor-designed treatment plan, the fastest path to real improvement is simply following it. It’s not about being forceful -- it’s about cutting through the noise with clear, clinically grounded guidance that actually gets results.”

The campaign “isn't selling a story, personality, or emotional connection,” Amsterdam added. “We’re selling scientific certainty and methodological precision. The clinical absence of traditional branding becomes Methodiq’s most distinctive brand attribute. It's anti-marketing as marketing.”

Methodiq backs up such reasoning by citing four years of investment, product testing and large-scale consumer studies, resulting in more than 100 personalized treatment plans and 28 core products, all new to the market and spanning prescription, OTC and cosmetic categories.

The prescription products number 10, covering acne and hyperpigmentation, and, Amsterdam notes, “are not generic medications – each of them is custom-formulated with a combination of three to four prescription ingredients and a custom base formula.”

Prescriptions come from a “personally assigned” licensed medical provider, who “reviews each customer’s intake information and photos to create a custom treatment plan for their specific skin needs.” If the medical provider decides an acne or hyperpigmentation customer does not need a prescription, those patients “will still have direct access to their provider at any time via the mobile app,” Amsterdam adds.

Methodiq’s  parent company is Oddity, which boasts of 60 million users across its other two brands: Il Makiage, a longtime beauty product/cosmetics marketer which digitally relaunched in 2018, and SpoiledChild, focusing on active wellness and longevity, which debuted in 2022.

While first focusing on dermatology treatments for acne, hyperpigmentation and eczema, Methodiq plans to expand into additional medical areas in the future.

“Dermatology is an ideal place for us to start because it’s a huge market we know well, where current solutions fall short,” Amsterdam explains. “The current system in place for skin conditions like acne is broken,” he continues, noting that Methodiq helps consumers who otherwise “face an impossible trade-off: ineffective, one-size-fits-all drugstore products or inconvenient, expensive, and hard-to-access doctor visits….These are huge pain points that cause true, emotional unhappiness.

“Our goal is to transform the category with a new standard of care, and after four years of heavy R&D we created a full system with dermatologist-developed formulas, advanced computer vision, personalized protocols, and a mobile app—all delivered at speed and scale that makes clinical-grade care as accessible as shopping online.”

The brand’s OOH launch campaign began in November with a Times Square “takeover,” ads adorning subway station entrances, and ads in key city areas, such as at 13^th and Hudson Streets and the Queensboro Bridge & 21^st St.

There have also been “urban panels” in Brooklyn and Manhattan, bus shelter digital ads, taxi top ads, and wild postings across the city. 

The campaign will peak next month, Amsterdam says, with Union Square and Prince Street Station subway “dominations,” other live boards across Manhattan and Brooklyn stations, more “digital spectaculars” around Times Square, and static wallscape placements in Soho and other areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

In addition to the OOH in NYC, Methodiq has been reaching  consumers nationwide via TikTok partnerships with more than 100 large medical and skincare influencers, designed “to create awareness and build trust.”

Asked what audience Methodiq’s campaign is targeting, Amsterdam cites “anyone struggling with meaningful skin conditions,” noting that 50 million Americans have acne, around 30 million eczema and 30 million also with hyperpigmentation and dark spots.

The platform offers both subscriptions and individual purchases. After a trial period, a subscription plan for acne treatment, to give one example, costs from $69 to $89 a month. Non-prescription products are available from Methodiq’s website, typically costing between $29 and $79, Amsterdam says.