Danish pharma Novo Nordisk is running a new unbranded awareness campaign aimed at younger people struggling with obesity with a focus on not making them feel it is up to them alone to lose weight.
There are two new videos on Twitter and YouTube from the Danish diabetes and obesity drug specialist, called "Rebecca’s story" and "Fran’s story."
Rebecca, a teenager, “shares the weight,” i.e., the burden of obesity, with Novo, highlighting a stat that two-thirds of teenagers living with obesity believe it is their responsibility alone to manage their weight. “This needs to change,” the company says.
Rebecca talks about how her struggle with her weight is also affecting her mental health and points out that obesity is a disease, noting “people have no empathy when it comes to obesity.”
It’s a similar theme with Fran’s story, which tries to break the taboo that obesity “is something you can’t control.” Her story focuses on accepted ideals of beauty and how she “broke past the harmful beauty standards that impacted her upbringing.”
There is also an accompanying website, plugged under the YouTube video, called “the Truth About Weight." It has a BMI tracker and an extensive list of other stories as well as links to healthcare providers.
The videos and site are running a #sharetheweight hashtag via TikTok, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Novo is clearly positioning obesity as a disease that is largely out of a patient’s control and can therefore, like any other disease, be treated.
Three years ago, Novo ran a different set of videos, called “Obesity Voices,” which had a similar theme about “being judged” by people. These were, however, voiced by actors and with generic shots and sad music.
These latest videos are more personal, focused on the individual and targeting a younger audience. It also builds on the collab Novo has with Queen Latifah. The pair teamed up late last year in a video series awareness campaign that aims to change minds about obesity.
In the U.S., Novo markets the injectable drug Wegovy, which was greenlighted last year, as well as its older med Saxenda. There is no direct mention of Wegovy in the videos or stories, though Novo Nordisk’s logo is on the website.
Novo hasn’t had it easy with the drug, however. In December 2021, the pharma said Wegovy would run short in the U.S. after a contract manufacturer in charge of syringe filling had to halt deliveries over issues with good manufacturing practices.
It has since said that the U.S. supply has been stabilized. In its recent financial update, Novo stated that it “expects to make all Wegovy dose strengths available in the U.S. during the second half of 2022.” Wegovy made 1.4 billion Danish kroner ($200 million) in the first quarter of 2022.