"When you look me in the eyes, I hope you don’t see crow’s feet." Not exactly the words of the Jonas Brothers’ hit single, but Joe Jonas—one-third of the U.S. super band—may be rethinking whether to add that second line for his next gig.
The 33-year-old singer has signed up to become the new U.S. brand partner for Merz Aesthetics and its Botox-rivaling anti-wrinkle injection, Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA).
“Making the decision to have an aesthetic treatment was really about self-care and looking and feeling like the best version of myself,” said Jonas in a release.
The partnership with Jonas forms the central element of Merz's new "Beauty on Your Terms" campaign for Xeomin. In addition to the Beauty on Your Own Terms campaign, Merz is also running a new Xeomin brand campaign, "Pure for a Reason," as well as the updated Xperience + 2.0 program digitally across the U.S., the company told Fierce Pharma Marketing.
Jonas is a major name for the smaller pharma, being an international pop icon, songwriter and actor and the front man of the multiplatinum group DNCE, though best known as the global pop-rock band Jonas Brothers formed with his brothers Kevin and Nick Jonas.
Jonas is known for his confidence and charisma onstage, and, clearly, Merz wants to tap into that for its new campaign to boost Xeomin's use.
“We’re so thrilled to be working with Joe Jonas and to have him as part of the Beauty on Your Own Terms campaign,” said Patrick Urban, president of Merz Aesthetics North America, in an interview.
“Whether he’s on stage or preparing for a role, he understands the deep connection between how you look and how you feel. And that connection is at the very heart of our company’s mission. We are focused on giving everyone the freedom to make the aesthetic choices that help them maintain their self-confidence.”
The Beauty campaign will be featured across social media by Jonas as well as via Merz Aesthetics’ Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels. Additionally, content "will also be integrated across various activations and multiple high-profile cultural moments in time—including New York Fashion Week—and that’s just the beginning," Urban said.
This is the second celebrity partner the German-U.S. pharma has tapped for Xeomin after hiring Oscar and Emmy-award-winning actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow back in 2020 as its first ambassador.
Given Jonas’ age, it also seems clear that Merz is continuing to go after a younger population for its product. Back in 2018, it launched a campaign for the “Xennial microgeneration.” Xennials represents the generation between Gen X and millennials.
It’s the same marketing story over at Evolus, which also has an anti-wrinkle treatment rivaling Merz and Allergan's Botox in Jeuveau. In 2020, Evolus started a direct-to-millennial strategy.
Evolus’ drug made $99.7 million last year, which is up 76% over 2020, though Jeuveau only launched midway through that year.
Xeomin was approved for cosmetic use in 2011 for temporary improvement in the appearance of frown lines between the eyebrows and was set to roll out in 2012. However, it was delayed another 10 months after Allergan sued and won an injunction over employees that left Botox to work on Xeomin at Merz.
Merz does not break down how much the drug makes, but its latest financial announcement said the company brought in just shy of 1 billion euros across its whole healthcare business in 2020.
But Botox, now owned by AbbVie after it snapped up Allergan, remains the sales king. It raked in $5.23 billion worldwide in 2021. Botox has other non-aesthetic licenses, but clearly Evolus and Merz are hoping to muscle in on at least some of the aesthetic market share, given that they are not currently seeking new labels in medical disorders.