Why those prescription drug ads are now oh-oh-oh so sexy - AdAge.com

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And now that states are slowly opening up, marketers are anxious to remind consumers it's once again safe to venture out to see their doctors. MullenLowe U.S. CEO Lee Newman says the agency’s healthcare business “has been a bright spot for us,” noting that healthcare clients have marketed and advertised steadily throughout the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, of course, DTC drug spending was already a huge business. According to an Ad Age Datacenter analysis of Kantar data, medicine and remedies was the fifth most advertised category overall last year, with $10.1 billion in spending. The top 10 advertised prescription drugs alone accounted for $2.2 billion in pharmaceutical spending, which explains why you see so many pitches for the same drugs over and over as companies race to imprint their product names in consumer minds before their patents expire.

According to Business Insider, agencies are paying healthy salaries for creatives in the sector. For example, it cites an open VP and associate creative director role at TBWA\Worldhealth that ranges between $150,000 and $225,000; a senior account director at Omnicom Health Group that pays between $125,000 and $200,000; a senior VP and group strategy director position for Omnicom Health that pays between $175,000 and $250,000; and a director of digital strategy post at Digitas Health that pays between $130,000 and $160,000.

And for industry execs who are in more troubled sectors, healthcare is rapidly becoming a safe haven. At the start of the pandemic, Omnicom Group CEO-Chairman John Wren said the holding company would reassign certain employees to growing areas like Omnicom Health Group to avoid as many layoffs and furloughs as possible, though the company declined further comment.

'A certain type of person'

But it isn't for everybody. Jacqueline Leak, a creative director at FCB Health in New York, who had previously worked as a creative at Ogilvy, BBDO and mcgarrybowen across categories such as packaged goods, food, beauty and fashion, says it is a tough transition. “It’s been an intense time. The biggest adjustment has been learning the language. Also, a high level of intelligence is required to navigate the world of science and bring that to life creatively,” says Leak, who currently works on cancer therapies.

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