Watch the commercial here.

There are two main reasons why people watch the Super Bowl: the actual game or the commercials. This year, ad slots cost around $8 million per commercial, so brands needed to make their 30 seconds worthwhile. Some succeeded, and others did not.

This year, Hims & Hers, a telehealth company known for going up against “Big Pharma,” created a Superbowl ad that has caused quite the controversy. Instead of taking a clear stance on weight loss medication – either by addressing its rising cost or the stigma surrounding it – they created mixed messaging which made audiences call the ad “tone deaf”.

When I first watched the ad, my immediate reaction was pretty neutral. I later went on TikTok and found out that viewers were not happy. Some expected the ad to be a critique on the food industry and how obesity is primarily caused by the ingredients in our meals. Others expected them to call out other pharmaceutical companies for making weight loss medications like Ozempic unaffordable. The problem is, this ad never fully commits to a message. It seems they were trying to make two separate commercials and squeezing them to become one. In the process, neither message was fully developed. 

Had Hims & Hers focused on exposing the barriers to weight loss medication, like its high costs and insurance restrictions, it would’ve been more impactful. Instead, the ad starts by highlighting the dangers of obesity and abruptly shifts to promoting their own weight loss medication as a solution, without ever addressing concerns about their drugs. 

What are compound drugs?

The biggest issue? Hims & Hers isn’t just promoting any weight loss medication, they’re pushing a compound version of semaglutide. Compounded medication is mixing or changing a drug ingredient to make a branded name medication more accessible during shortages. The big thing to note here is these medications do not have to be FDA approved. 

Why do people buy them?

It’s simple. These medications are more accessible. If you want something so badly but you can’t afford it, sometimes the risk of a cheaper substitute feels worth it. I’ve even considered it. 

As someone who is obese, I didn’t find the ad offensive. In fact, I actually appreciate the idea of a more affordable option for semaglutide-based medication. Currently, name brand weight loss treatments can cost around $1,349.02/package, without proper insurance.But affordability doesn’t mean much if the risks aren’t clear, and that’s where Hims & Hers really dropped the ball. 

Ethical concerns

Like other drugs, weight loss medication comes with serious risk, one being thyroid cancer. Hims & Hers does not mention side effects in their commercial, raising red flags. Because they offer compound semaglutide, they aren’t bound to the same advertising rules as FDA-approved medications, which means they do not evaluate their safety and effectiveness in the same way as approved medications. However, side effects must be disclosed in advertising – especially when a company is marketing themselves as a medical provider. Omitting this information is just irresponsible marketing. Different ingredients may cause different risks, sometimes even worse side effects, and without knowing the risks, a company like Hims & Hers is expecting its consumers to take this medication blindly.

Have you ever seen any other medical ads? One common phrase they include is: “Ask your doctor before taking _______.” That’s because you need a doctor overseeing any medication you choose to take. But with Hims & Hers, you can get the medication after an online questionnaire. You might not even need to interact with the doctor at all.

This leads to people not being properly evaluated for underlying health conditions, or for how their bodies might interact with the medication. In addition, no one is actively monitoring whether the person is potentially misusing this drug. It is a drug, after all. 

So, was the ad tone-deaf?

I understand why the ad received backlash. There is already a huge stigma surrounding weight loss medicine, especially with people who misuse them for aesthetic reasons instead of medical necessity. Instead of addressing this stigma and advocating for those who genuinely need these medications, the commercial felt like it was selling a quick fix and bringing up a conversation without finishing it.  

Hims & Hers had the perfect opportunity to challenge Big Pharma and insurance companies, but just overcomplicated their message and frustrated both parties – those who think weight loss drugs are overprescribed and those who genuinely need them. And by leaving out crucial information, they failed in their responsibility to be transparent. 

At the end of the day, the problem isn’t that the ad missed the mark – it’s that it tried to do too much and ultimately led to nothing at all.