2002 BEST ONE-OFF MEDIA IDEA WINNER

WINNING ENTRY - Vagifem "Why Love Hurts"

COMPANY - Starcom Sydney

CLIENT - Novo Nordisk

OBJECTIVE

Vagifem is a pharmaceutical brand used for atrophic vaginitis (AV), a condition that causes drying of the vagina around menopause and results in painful sex. Many menopausal women assume that this is part of ageing and few raise it with their doctor. A key insight revealed that more menopausal women discuss menopausal or sex issues with their hairdresser than with their GP. (One hairdresser said, "Darling, once you've cut a woman's hair and made her look fabulous, you've got a friend for life.") The challenge was to find a media solution which capitalised on this fact. The total budget was $10,800.

CAMPAIGN

The Vagifem target was identified by searching for areas with high numbers of menopausal women and isolating salons they visited. Fifty salons in the Gosford area were selected as a test market. Hairdressers capes were produced with the message www.whylovehurts.com printed back-to-front so that it could be read in the mirror. The message aroused the customers' curiosity, and salon owners were supplied with scripted suggestions of how to respond as well as fact sheets on AV.

RESULTS

The campaign increased the number of prescriptions for Vagifem by 25% in the Gosford area. Every salon distributed all the leaflets it was given, and anecdotal evidence said that many customers wrote the web site address down to refer it to a friend.