• by Les Luchter , Yesterday

Marking pharma firm Boehringer Ingelheim’s Super Bowl debut, actresses Octavia Spencer and Sofía Vergara star in a :30 disease-screening awareness spot titled “Mission: SOS."

In the ad, which begins dramatically as leather-jacketed Spencer roars in on a motorcycle, soon to be joined by similarly attired Vergara, the two stars make the case for people getting a uACR urine test for early detection of possible kidney damage.

The spot is specifically targeted to people who have high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes, since their kidneys, say the two stars, “ could be sending out an SOS about increased risk like heart attack and stroke,” both of which can be caused by kidney damage.

Boehringer Ingelheim points out that almost half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, 10% have diabetes, mostly type 2, and that 20% of the form and a third of latter may have chronic kidney disease, which affects an estimated 35 million Americans.

Spencer herself has type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, she revealed to People on Wednesday, while Vergara’s mother has high blood pressure.

The Super Bowl spot will kick off what Boehringer Ingelheim has dubbed “Detect the SOS,” a “public health mission” with Spencer and Vergara both signing multiyear partnerships. 

The mission's website, DetectTheSOS.com, features educational materials and downloadable resources that help at-risk individuals start a conversation with their doctor and ask for a uACR screening as part of comprehensive annual testing.

“’Detect the SOS’ is a multi-stakeholder movement that brings together trusted voices, advocates, healthcare professionals and policymakers to empower patients with resources as they take care of their kidney and heart health," Brian Hilberdink, Boehringer Ingelheim president of U.S. Human Pharma, said in a statement.  "This is just the beginning, and we hope many more join our mission either by taking the test themselves, sharing the information with a loved one or reaching out to us to partner."

Partners so far, whose logos are shown with Boehringer Ingelheim’s at the end of the Super Bowl ad, include the American Diabetes Association, National Kidney Foundation, The Mended Hearts and WomenHeart.

Boehringer Ingelheim’s creative agency is IPG/Weber Shandwick’s DNA Communications.

While “Mission: SOS” and “Detect the SOS” are unbranded, Boehringer Ingelheim of course does have branded stakes in the targeted and affected conditions, such as its co-marketing with Eli Lilly of Jardiance, the heavily advertised type 2 diabetes drug.