Quest launches 'cheeky' TV ad in consumer testing campaign

Quest Diagnostics is launching what it dubs a “disruptive” nationwide ad and marketing campaign aimed at getting consumers “to take action on their health” and sign up for a host of the medtech giant’s consumer-led testing products. 

This campaign is using “provocative, engaging content that is out of the ordinary for a diagnostic testing company,” a Quest spokesperson told Fierce Pharma Marketing, as it drills into the so-called consumer-initiated testing market, where consumers ask for tests they can do at home and not in a doctor’s office.   

This includes what Quest sees as the three major categories of tests popular among its consumers, all of which Quest caters to: general wellness (that includes testing for vitamin deficiencies), allergy (for areas such as hay fever) and sexual health (including tests for STIs).

The goal is to educate people on their health testing choices in what the company says should be a “human and relatable way.” The tone and style of the campaign are, the Quest spokesperson said, “unexpected and fresh,” using deliberately “cheeky imagery and graphics.”

For example, one ad for sexual health testing (pictured above) uses the phallic eggplant and other suggestive imagery “intended to tap into the cultural lexicon and instantly connect with consumers,” Quest said in a press release. The hope is that the marketing strategy drives awareness and action while also conveying sexual health testing shouldn’t be taboo.

This week, Quest is debuting the TV ad campaign “Put Your _____ To The Test,” beginning with a broadcast during "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" The consumer is tapped directly to fill in the blank space with what they would test for, whether that’s allergies, sexual health or general wellness.

Other media placements include digital video and display running through 2023 nationally, according to the release.

The COVID-19 pandemic made people more health conscious and open to the idea of testing at home, and that's what Quest is hoping to tap into: a consumer market more aware of their health than ever before.

It also comes as COVID testing demand has fallen since the heights of 2020-21 and all med tech companies, including Quest which made at-home SARS-CoV-2 tests, are looking to boost their non-COVID products.