In 2023, AbbVie reaffirmed its ongoing trend of being the leading spender in TV drug advertising by securing both the first and second positions in pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer (DTC) spending.
While the top three biggest spending pharmas on TV drug ads are the same as in 2022, the order has changed.
In 2022, AbbVie's JAK inhibitor Rinvoq registered the highest spending, while its formidable competitor Dupixent, the immunology blockbuster from Sanofi and Regeneron, secured the second-highest position. AbbVie's other major immunology drug, Skyrizi, occupied the third spot in spending.
In 2023, the tables turned as Skyrizi took the lead, with AbbVie allocating a substantial total of $383.7 million across its advertisements throughout the year. This amount was more than double the $174.4 million that the Big Pharma company spent in 2022.
AbbVie spent $351.1 million on TV ads for Rinvoq, securing a second-place position and significantly surpassing the $315.8 million spent in 2022.
Both totals are also far higher than the $307.2 million spent on Dupixent, which was itself only marginally up, by just $1.3 million year-on-year, pushing it down from second place in 2022 to third last year.
Claiming the fourth position is Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim's diabetes treatment, Jardiance, a consistent top-10 performer. This represents a one-place improvement from its standing in 2022. However, it falls significantly short of a podium finish, as the pair allocated $146.7 million to all TV ads for the drug—merely half of the spending for Dupixent, which secured the third position with its year-round advertising.
Lundbeck and Otsuka’s MDD, dementia agitation and schizophrenia drug took the fifth spot, up an impressive three places on 2022 thanks in large part to its boost in spending to $141.2 million, massively up from $115.8 million spent the year before.
In the second half of the top 10 we see a lot of new drugs and drugs not seen in the top 10 before. This includes Bristol Myers Squibb’s new plaque psoriasis pill Sotyktu. It only started its DTC campaign in 2023 but kicked off with a bang, spending $132.5 million in its first year as BMS was clearly committed to pushing the boat out on its dermatology marketing.
The seventh biggest pharma drug ad spend was for Novo Nordisk’s type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic, though it fell three spots from 2022 as it cut spend by $27 million year-over-year to $130.3 million. This comes amid a surge in demand, caused by celebrities and social media influencers plugging its (non-approved) use as a weight-loss drug.
This constrained supply and prompted Novo to attempt to curb the marketing of the drug temporarily in an effort to alleviate the heightened demand.
AbbVie is back again in eighth place with its manic depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar drug Vraylar. AbbVie spent $126.6 million in 2023, massively up from $39.2 million spent in 2022. This means AbbVie spent $861.4 million across all three of its ads in the top 10, making it, by far, the biggest DTC top 10 spender of 2023.
Just like with Sotyktu in ninth place we saw a new drug by a company looking to hit the ground running with its marketing campaign. The company is Eli Lilly, and the drug is its newly approved type 2 diabetes drug Mounjaro, for which Lilly spent $114.8 million across the year.
GSK’s respiratory disease therapy Trelegy rounds off the top 10 for 2023, upping spend from just under $80 million in 2022 to $114.4 million last year.
Spending across the top 10 pharma DTCs in 2023 reached $1.94 billion, a major jump from 2022 which saw $1.68 billion spent across all the top 10 ads, which itself was only marginally up from the $1.61 billion spent in 2021.
These data are out from real-time ad trackers at iSpot.tv and shared with Fierce Pharma Marketing. The company tracks pharma brand (not OTC) spending and is crunched from national TV ads from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023.
Check out the full top 10 list below.
1. Skyrizi
Movement: Up from No. 3 in 2022
What is it? AbbVie’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $383.7 million (up from $174.4 million in 2022)
Number of spots: 11 (six psoriasis, two Crohn’s disease, three psoriatic arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Roller Coaster” (est. $123.8 million)
2. Rinvoq
Movement: Down one spot from No. 1 in 2022
What is it? AbbVie’s JAK inhibitor immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $351.1 million (up from $315.8 million in 2022)
Number of spots: Nine (four arthritis, two UC/Crohn’s, three eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Disrupts My Skin” (est. $83.2 million)
3. Dupixent
Movement: Down one spot from No. 2 in 2022
What is it? Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $307.2 million (up from $305.9 million in 2022)
Number of spots: 12 (eight eczema, four asthma)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Tyler and Harper” (est. $42.8 million)
4. Jardiance
Movement: Up one spot from No. 5 in 2022
What is it? Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s diabetes
Est. national TV ad spend: $146.7 million (up from $145.1 million in 2022)
Number of spots: Four
Biggest-ticket ad: “Musical: Bus” (est. $59 million)
5. Rexulti
Movement: Up three spots from No. 8 in 2022
What is it? Lundbeck and Otsuka’s MDD, agitation with dementia and schizophrenia drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $141.2 million (up from $115.8 million in 2022)
Number of spots: Four (one Alzheimer’s, three depression)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Build on Your Progress” (est. $43.7 million)
6. Sotyktu
Movement: Not in the top 10 in 2022
What is it? Bristol Myers Squibb’s plaque psoriasis pill
Est. national TV ad spend: $132.5 million (up from $0 in 2022)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “She Found It” (est. $84.1 million)
7. Ozempic
Movement: Down three spots from No. 4 in 2022
What is it? Novo Nordisk’s injectable diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $130.3 million (down from $157 million in 2022)
Number of spots: Four
Biggest-ticket ad: “Discover the Ozempic Tri-Zone: Rock Climbing” (est. $44.3 million)
8. Vraylar
Movement: Not in the top 10 in 2022
What is it? AbbVie’s manic depression, schizophrenia and bipolar drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $126.6 million (up from $39.2 million in 2022)
Number of spots: Four
Biggest-ticket ad: “A Lift” (est. $52.1 million)
9. Mounjaro
Movement: Not in the top 10 in 2022
What is it? Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $114.8 million (up from $0 in 2022)
Number of spots: Five
Biggest-ticket ad: “What If” (est. $69.9 million)
10. Trelegy
Movement: Not in the top 10 in 2022
What is it? GSK’s respiratory therapy
Est. national TV ad spend: $114.4 million (up from $79.3 million in 2022)
Number of spots: Six
Biggest-ticket ad: “Concert” (est. $43.2 million)