Consumer and OTC drug brands paying to be on the airwaves is a standard way to do business, but ITV, one of the biggest U.K. terrestrial TV channels, is paying to be in the drug business.
The U.K. British television network, which launched in 1955 as a commercial alternative to the original TV channel the BBC, is investing in pain relief brand Flarin, the company’s first consumer healthcare investment to date.
There is, naturally, still an advertising element here. As part of the investment, ITV will funnel up to 5 million pounds sterling ($6.3 million) of advertising across its channels in return for a minority equity stake in the company.
Flarin uses a liquid formulation of the generic pain and anti-inflammation drug ibuprofen and is sold over the counter in the U.K.
ITV’s investment is set to boost Flarin’s mass market brand awareness by “bringing the brand to millions of consumers via ITV platforms,” the company said in a release. "This will be a step change in the size of the campaign and the approach to scaling the Flarin brand to date."
Chief financial officer of Flarin Philip Lindsell added that he's "confident that a sustained and robust campaign across ITV and ITVX will help many more consumers to use [Flarin] for effective relief from their joint pain and inflammation.”