Sexual and reproductive health brands are spending big this year — and audiences are engaging with the category’s ads.
To better understand just how effective these ads were, we looked at how the nation’s leading sexual and reproductive health brands are using TV advertising to drive consumer engagement. Through our investment-grade outcomes data, we analyzed the performance of sexual and reproductive health advertisers from May to August this year, measuring how likely consumers were to engage with the advertising brand in the minutes after the ad aired.
Read on and learn which women’s and men’s reproductive and sexual health brands got the most engagement with their ad placements — and which TV programs were the most successful for these brands.
Across the board, TV spend among men’s and women’s reproductive and sexual health advertising is up this year.
From May 1 through August 12, spending among men’s reproductive and sexual health brands is up 10% year-over-year — and up 145% from the same time period in 2021. For women’s brands, estimated spend is up 33% year-over-year, and up 26% from the same time period in 2021. Prescription sexual health brands have followed similar trends, with total estimated national TV spend for these brands up 501% year-over-year during the time period we analyzed.
When it comes to men’s reproductive and sexual health ads, erectile dysfunction telehealth company Bluechew came out on top, with ads that were an eye-popping 941% more likely to generate consumer engagement than the category average. Its top ad showed women talking about the power of Bluechew, and it was 1,122% more effective than the category average.
But BlueChew isn’t the only male-focused sexual health brand with high engagement. Hims ads were 202% more effective than the category average, followed by Ageless Male, Nugenix, Super Beta Prostate, Roman, and Trojan.
The most effective program for men’s sexual and reproductive health advertisers was Full Custom Garage on Motor Trend. Ads placed there were 455% more effective than the category average. This was followed by Futurama on Comedy Central and Counting Cars on fyi.
Opill, the first FDA-approved birth control pill to be available without a prescription, led the way for advertisers in women’s reproductive and sexual health. Its ads were 28% more likely to generate consumer engagement than the category average. Its top ad, which was 29% more effective than the category average, shows women easily buying Opill over the counter.
Following Opill was Clearblue, whose ads were 17% more effective than the category average, followed by Poise, First Response, and Always.
For women’s health advertisers, the most effective program was The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries on Discovery Family Channel. Ads shown during The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries were 186% more effective than the average category ad. Other programs that won big with advertisers were The Smurfs (146% more effective than the average) and Hoy día on Telemundo (133% more effective).
Many of the brands that have topped the list of ad effectiveness are still-nascent upstarts — like BlueChew and Hims. But one incumbent brand leads the pack when it comes to prescription sexual health ads. Viagra’s ads were 111% more effective than the category average, followed at a distance by Ro (10% more effective), Rex MD, and Steelman Pills.
The most effective TV program for prescription advertisers was Ancient Aliens on The History Channel, with 13% more effective ads than the category average.
Sexual health advertisers’ whopping engagement rates for spring and summer 2024 prove investing in TV ad placements is a winning bet — and given this category’s prominence in the 2023-24 NFL season, they’re likely to continue seeing a return on their investment.
Whether you’re exploring new media-buying opportunities or maximizing performance with creative rotation optimization, EDO has you covered. For more insights about measuring the quality of ad impressions, check out our recent white paper on The Power Of Engaged Impressions — or schedule a meeting with us today.