Hims & Hers responds to controversy over Super Bowl weight loss drug commercial: 'We're calling for change' - chof 360 news

On Sunday, Hims & Hers Health will have a " target="_blank"> commercial air during Super Bowl LIX. It’s already courting controversy, with calls to bar the game’s host, Fox, from broadcasting it. Why? Experts and advocates in the health care space are saying that the 60-second spot — which deems obesity “America’s deadliest epidemic,” criticizes the $160 billion weight loss industry and calls the health care system “broken,” all while offering the brand’s own “affordable, doctor-trusted” compounded semaglutide as a solution — is “misleading” and “disparaging.” The company, however, disputes the claims.

In response to complaints made publicly by the Partnership for Safe Medicines and the Obesity Society (TOS), Hims & Hers provided chof360 Life with the following statement:

This is a clear attempt by industry groups to cancel an advertisement that directly calls out how they are part of a system that fails to prioritize the health of Americans. The system is broken, and this is just another example of how they don’t want Americans to know they have options. We’re calling for change, which means putting the health of Americans first through affordable and available care.

What’s happening

The Super Bowl commercial makes the target of their messaging clear by featuring images of injection pens meant to represent brand-name weight loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, a direct reference to the high prices of those drugs with Childish Gambino’s “This is America” as the soundtrack. There’s also a brand link on YouTube, where the commercial debuted at the end of January, that brings viewers to a webpage that states, “Big Pharma doesn’t want you to see this” at the top.

Hims & Hers believes that is where the controversy lies. “We called on the industry and said that they need to change — and their reaction is trying to shut this ad down,” says a representative for the company. “To us, it's clear that it's not about the ad — it's about the message.”

The backlash

The complaints filed by health care groups and lawmakers, however, are primarily focused on calling out the advertising standards that they believe should apply to prescription medications, including this one.

In a letter to Dr. Catherine Gray, the director of the office of prescription drug promotion at the Food and Drug Administration, the executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines points out that Hims & Hers directly references the “life-changing weight loss medications” that it offers without clarifying that it is a compounded semaglutide and, therefore, isn’t FDA-approved. “The disclaimer appears only briefly in tiny gray font at the bottom of the screen that is nearly imperceptible to an average viewer, without any accompanying audio disclosure,” the letter reads.

Also, the ad lacks any mention of possible side effects of the medication despite the FDA’s warning that compounded drugs “can be risky for patients” as a result of not undergoing the administration’s safety, effectiveness and quality reviews. This was also mentioned in another letter written by The Partnership for Safe Medicines to executives at Fox demanding that the ad “be withdrawn to protect public safety.”

“We adhere to all applicable laws and regulations regarding advertising,” says Hims & Hers. Compounded medications are subject to a separate set of standards than those that are FDA-approved. Another letter addressed to Dr. Sarah Brenner, acting commissioner of the FDA, by senators Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, and Roger Marshall, Republican of Kansas, on Friday calls this “a regulatory loophole” that needs fixing.

“We plan to soon introduce bipartisan legislation to close this gap, so that patients are not deceived by advertisements that glaringly omit critical safety and side effect information,” the letter reads. “But we believe FDA may already have the authority to take enforcement action against marketing that may mislead patients about this company’s products.”

What viewers should know

The FDA tells chof360 Life that it is aware of the complaints. In the meantime, the Obesity Society urges consumers “to speak with their medical doctor regarding obesity medications,” according to a press release.

The organization made additional comments about the content of the ad, claiming that the imagery reinforces harmful weight stigma and bias. “Hims & Hers portrays obesity with images of large headless abdomens which does create a visceral negative response by the viewer, and they unfortunately cast a disparaging connotation for people living with obesity,” says Dr. Marc-Andrew Cornier, the organization’s president.

As of Friday evening, Fox still plans to air the Hims & Hers commercial on Sunday.