Ogilvy: Viatris’ Make Love Last

Promoting a product like Viatris in China presented a multifaceted and significant challenge. Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising is strictly prohibited, and the topic of sex remains highly sensitive within Chinese society. This created a dual barrier: legal restrictions on promotion and cultural sensitivities around the product's core function. The challenge was to find a way to communicate the product's benefit – enhancing intimacy – without explicitly naming the product or directly advertising it, all while navigating strict regulatory frameworks and cultural norms.

Ogilvy Shanghai devised a brilliantly delicate and indirect creative solution: "Make Love Last." This was an unbranded art and photography project, designed to sidestep advertising prohibitions and cultural sensitivities. The project highlighted the personal experiences and challenges with intimacy of three real couples.

Utilising time-lapse photography, a technique that inherently kept the content safe from censors by focusing on the passage of time and emotional connection rather than explicit imagery, the campaign subtly conveyed the concept of lasting intimacy. Launched strategically on Valentine's Day, this artistic approach fostered an open online conversation about intimacy, effectively promoting the underlying need that Viatris addresses, all while meticulously adhering to Chinese pharmaceutical advertising regulations.

By creating an open conversation about intimacy online, "Make Love Last" successfully engaged the target audience on a deeply personal level without direct advertising. The project's unbranded nature and artistic execution allowed it to bypass strict regulations, demonstrating a profound creative transformation in how sensitive pharmaceutical products can be approached. It proved that meaningful engagement and brand association could be built through indirect, culturally nuanced storytelling, effectively preparing the ground for future, more direct, medical professional-focused communications and establishing a new benchmark for sensitive product promotion in challenging markets.