Four pharma campaigns that made an impact on social media

The high regulatory standards to which pharma companies are held pose a hurdle when it comes to using social media. In the UK, for example, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) prohibits the promotion of prescription-only medicines (POMs) to the public. Many markets have similar guidelines, and even in the United States, which allows direct promotion, a ban on pharma advertising on certain channels is currently under discussion.

As a result, many brands have opted to remain passive on social media. If pharma companies plan carefully, however, social media can be a unique and inventive way to drive awareness and engagement.

Some of the best campaigns tell compelling, personal stories that can bring a condition’s challenges – not to mention a treatment’s benefits – to life. This can accomplish goals like increasing brand recognition, upping reach and improving sentiment, all without being directly promotional. From emotive HIV interviews to a gamified Snapchat lens, here are four stand-out examples of pharma campaigns that played to social media’s strengths while achieving marketing objectives.

Navigating HIV: real voices and empathy

London-based ViiV Healthcare has around a third of the global HIV therapy market. Yet while both the health outcomes of HIV and public attitudes to the disease have transformed over the last 50 years, HIV can still be hard to talk about.

Viiv found that three-quarters of people living with HIV admitted to withholding at least one concern from their doctor, with many reluctant to discuss safe sex and sexual health. They believed that promoting the value of honest, intimate conversations could resonate and shift the dial around awareness.

The company collaborated with The Skin Deep, who specialize in emotionally-charged video interviews, to present stories that could shine a light on the lives and perspectives of people with HIV. The campaign, Navigating HIV, featured a series of one-on-one conversations between healthcare providers, advocates and people living with HIV. Some pairs consisted of an existing patient and their doctor, while others were introduced for the first time. 

This unscripted approach resulted in honest, direct conversations about resilience, support and the way HIV is perceived. Numerous clips were shared across Instagram and TikTok, with in-depth (12–18 minute) episodes hosted on The Skin Deep’s YouTube channel. 

Navigating HIV launched in September 2024, and among its results were: 

• more than 1.7 million organic views across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok over the ensuing three months
• Instagram posts gathered an average of more than 600 engagements each 
• followed with a paid media component that drove more than 600,000 video views.

ViiV’s campaign illustrates the importance of high-quality video on social. It’s also a lesson in the value of finding authentic voices and letting them speak to a real problem, in the form of the communication gap around HIV, so that a campaign feels substantial, necessary and involving, rather than contributing to content overwhelm.

The work shows how pharma can be mindful of regulations (no products are promoted, and videos underline that people should consult local medical authorities for advice) but still start a serious conversation with viral traction across multiple channels. 

Organon goes undercover to spotlight misdiagnosis of women’s heart attacks

Trusted voices are at the heart of another successful use of social media, this time in the Middle East. US pharmaceutical giant Organon, which specialises in women’s health, found that cardiovascular diseases are responsible for one in three women’s deaths globally – five times as many as breast cancer. This is largely due to a historic medical bias that excluded women from clinical trials and so made their symptoms less recognisable than those suffered by men. 

To build a compelling, evidence-based narrative that could speak to women in Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE, Organon worked with MullenLowe and McCann Health. They began by: 

• asking 4,000 Arabic women if they knew the signs of a woman’s heart attack – 97.4% didn’t
• sending a woman, dubbed ‘Mis[s]diagnosed’, undercover to meet medical professionals across the region showing the less known signs of female heart attacks – 83% missed them
• packaging the data and her story inside ‘Awareness Aid kits’ and sending them to healthcare workers, doctors and influencers, urging them to share the signs.

The 2023-4 campaign reached more than 28 million women and delivered a 24% uplift in social engagement for Organon. Like ViiV, Organon’s success came in part because it found a cause that needed attention.

But that wouldn’t have worked without the campaign’s careful groundwork, in the form of research and swish kits, that engaged expert influencers, who brought trust and authority to the campaign. Organon branding on the video and kit packaging meant the brand was heavily linked to the campaign, even if no products were promoted. 

Dulcolax challenges poo taboos on social media

Over-the-counter medications are subject to less strict promotional regulation, but tactics to challenge attitudes and make social campaigns interactive are just as important in the space.

Dulcolax, a laxative brand, has leaned into the fact that conversations about using the toilet can often be taboo, putting this at the heart of multiple campaigns. One study commissioned by the brand found that 77% of Portuguese women have experienced constipation, with over a million believing that the stigma they experienced as girls still keeps them from using the toilet on dates or when using public transport.

The brand addressed this in a 2024 campaign with MRM Brazil and Weber Shandwick that used generative AI to create imagery of pooing princesses (via a custom model, as GenAI has its own restrictions on toilet imagery). The campaign ran across social media, OOH, and even a book called “The Princess and the Poo”, while an Instagram AR filter allowed users to see themselves as their own versions of pooing princesses. 

Research around taboos also fuelled a campaign that challenged habits in the UK. According to Dulcolax, while the number of constipation sufferers is increasing, the laxative category is on the decline.

Identifying that on X, one in 13 posts contain the word “shit”, Dulcolax worked with agency Hearts & Science to respond to tweets that used the word, offering up positive “shit talk”. The brand gave light-hearted medical advice on topics such as fibre-rich foods and the right way to deal with constipation. The result was that positive sentiment rose by 55%, and sales increased by 6%.

Alberto Hernandez, then-chief growth officer at Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, which owns Dulcolax, told The Drum that Dulcolax’s bold campaigns resulted from a change of mindset towards healthcare advertising.

“There is a little bit of weight that [healthcare advertisers] carry with us that hasn’t allowed us to unlock the potential of our brands to the degree that other industries have been able to do, even if they’re regulated,” he said. “…The relief we can generate can create an emotional connection with a brand that is far beyond any other industry. The only thing is that we have been our worst enemy.”

The relief we can generate can create an emotional connection with a brand that is far beyond any other industry.

Snapchat lens breaks records for VTAMA

We’ve seen how digging into real problems can power video and influencer awareness campaigns. In the US, brands can promote treatments directly to consumers, which has led to fun and hard-hitting campaigns.

These playful, inventive approaches can prove hugely successful. Take Dermavent’s VTAMA cream, a treatment for the dry skin condition plaque psoriasis. VTAMA enlisted health agency 21GRAMS for a campaign timed to coincide with World Psoriasis Day in October 2023. According to VTAMA, plaque psoriasis sufferers are five times more likely to be gamers than the general population, while 89% of gamers say playing offers them stress relief, with stress a common trigger of skin flare-ups. 

Interactive lenses are popular among gamers, so VTAMA created the first AR Lens used as part of a branded pharma campaign. The filter was part of an immersive Snapchat game in which users could tap the screen to simulate scratching to jump (itching is a common symptom), and avoid obstacles. Users were encouraged to share their high score with friends, and information about the product was rolled into the game. 

Over the 24 hours of World Psoriasis Day, the game gathered more than 16,000 clicks and more than 41,000 shares, powering a record-breaking day of website visits for VTAMA that enabled users to find out more about the treatment. 

VTAMA’s game is clearly branded with the name of a prescription product, but companies who are unable to promote treatments directly can still combine learning with interactive technology, which is shown to be a great way to make messages stick. Even if the brand isn’t front and centre, finding the right game and platform can still boost consumer knowledge and drive conversations. 

How pharma brands can get the most from social

Social media can bring regulatory challenges for pharma and healthcare brands, but that doesn’t mean it can’t play an important marketing role. Here are some ways to make the most of social:

• Ensure content is relevant and has a clearly defined goal. That might be a rise in sales, but for campaigns that cannot market their products directly, a rise in social engagement or positive sentiment may be key.
• For more general awareness campaigns, supply educational and patient support content via links, and track those links to measure success. 
• Focus on real issues that will resonate – embarrassment around constipation, or a lack of understanding of women’s cardiovascular disease are great examples of conversations that need to be had. 
• Authenticity and trust are particularly important in pharma: being responsive on your social channels is a great start, but as these studies show, using real human stories, respected influencers and expert research gives campaigns a higher chance of success. 
• Don’t be afraid to have fun. Working with a light touch, whether via games or taboo-busting conversation starters, can help brands target different groups of people and underline that pharmaceutical products aren’t just about a condition or its treatment: they’re about helping people live their best life.