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Botox boom Face TimeBy Rick Horowitz
Just so you know: You're talking to the guy who came up with "cine-mamas." This was years ago, my very first job out of college, crunching ratings numbers at one of the big TV networks. There was a morning movie show on one of the network's stations, and I was trying to massage the demographics so that our ad guys could go out and sell advertising time for the show. And all those highly coveted, movie-viewing young women in the audience? "Cine-mamas," I declared. The rest, as they say, was a slow slide to advertising-career oblivion. But all these years later, the spark still burns -- and that's what matters, right? Meanwhile, the young women whose viewing habits I tracked and pumped back then are more...seasoned than they used to be. (Aren't we all?) Time has left its mark on many of their faces. And some of the people behind those faces, it turns out, would be much happier if time took a flying leap. Say hello to Botox. Say goodbye to wrinkles. (See? Once you've got advertising in your blood...) Actually, the words you're going to be hearing everywhere you turn are these: "It's not magic; it's Botox Cosmetic." That's because the federal Food and Drug Administration has just approved the use of Botox to fight wrinkles. Not that plenty of people -- women, and even some men -- haven't already been getting Botox injections for just that reason. But up to now, wrinkle warfare was an "off-label" use for the stuff; it was officially approved only to treat crossed eyes, uncontrolled blinking and certain kinds of neck spasms. Not anymore. And now that the F.D.A. has said OK, Allergan, the company that makes Botox, plans to spend a mere 40 or 50 million dollars just through the end of this year getting the word out to frantically furrowed consumers and their only-too-happy-to-oblige doctors. That's a lot of advertising dollars. That's a lot of advertising commissions for the lucky ad firms that get to handle the account. So you can see why my interest has been piqued, can't you? And, of course, there's the chance to do good -- to let people know that their lives can be transformed simply by spending several hundred dollars every few months to get needles stuck in their faces to paralyze certain facial muscles with a diluted dose of the very same nerve poison that causes botulism. No problem. It's all in how you craft the message -- that's how I see it. Which is why I've been brainstorming lately (in my case, it's only a minor squall) to come up with some imaginative approaches. Not that Allergan has asked me, but you never know; I want to be ready. First things first: They've got to do something about "paralyze." "Botulism" is enough of a turn-off to most people, and I'm sure Allergan will never breathe the word again. But if they actually have to explain how Botox works -- How about "relax"? Botox will "relax" your facial muscles. (I realize "relax" isn't an exact synonym for "paralyze." That's what makes advertising such a creative business.) Or even better: Botox will "calm" your facial muscles. Everybody wants to be "calm," yes? Absolutely yes, even if it means tossing a few minor facial expressions over the side. I see a newspaper ad: One half has a tall, frosty fruit shake, bright pink with sweat beads running down the side of the glass. The other half has a satisfied Botox customer. And the copy just says, "Smoothies." It can't miss! I see a TV ad: There's a close-up of a thirty-something woman in some nice outdoor setting, and the music behind her is upbeat and inspiring, the same as it is on all the other TV drug ads. Anyway, she's sitting there, and then you hear a teenager's voice off in the distance, coming closer, and then the teenager runs right up to the woman and shouts, "Grandma!" Get it? Because she's not really a -- You get it. I see another slogan: "Botox -- you'll still be smiling on the inside." I see a whole new product line: "Decrease." I see -- Hold my calls! It's all coming back to me now... Posted 4/18/02. You'll
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Rick Horowitz
