BBDO, GSK add big buzz to malaria drug

BBDO AND GlaxoSmithKline have put a fresh face on their DTC campaign for antimalarial Malarone (atovaquone and proguanil).

On the heels of the brand's inaugural campaign in 2005, the marketers introduced a set of print ads last month featuring a giant mosquito.

The larger-than-life insect

That's no easy task. Malaria is a disease that scarcely exists in the US and that even travelers to malarial regions don't worry much about, Hilton said.

"There are people who travel to these areas, but they say,'Well, I'm [staying] at a three-star hotel. I'm not at risk. I don't go out to the country,'" he said.

The ads portray about a dozen areas, including a hotel pool and a beach, where disease-carrying mosquitoes can strike. The ads appear in travel titles, newsweeklies and general interest magazines such as Forbes, Golf Magazine and Men's Journal.

Visitors to Malarone.com can use an interactive world map to check whether their destination is one where malaria-carrying mosquitoes have been found.

Hilton said he also plans to have the winged mascot appear at travel-related meetings, where travel agents and the general public learn about new vacations.

"You can just imagine the promotional opportunities," he said.

Malarone led antimalarials in 2005 with sales of $39 million, according to IMS Health.

-Marc Iskowitz