The San Francisco-based telehealth company Hims & Hers has raised a storm after its recent Super Bowl ad for compound weight-loss medications. The 60-second commercial has been attacked by U.S. senators and health experts for not stating critical safety information and allegedly misleading consumers.
This ad highlights that the prevalence of obesity is at an all-time high in America and targets the healthcare sector for affairs’; it puts profit over well-being. The narrator, against the backdrop of Childish Gambino’s “This Is America,” said, “There are medications that work, but they’re priced for profits, not patients.”.The system wasn’t built to help us. It was built to keep us sick and stuck. But not anymore.” This messaging frames Hims & Hers as a disruptor offering accessible solutions to weight loss.
However, the ad has been criticized for not giving enough information about the safety and side effects of the medications being promoted. Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., wrote the FDA that the ad “poses a risk to mislead patients by excluding any safety or side effect information while advertising a specific type of weight loss drug.” They pointed out that the disclosure, stating the promoted weight-loss product was not FDA-approved, flashed briefly on screen for only three seconds, in tiny, almost illegible print.
The senators emphasized the importance of transparency in pharmaceutical advertising and indicated plans to introduce bipartisan legislation to close regulatory loopholes that allow for such omissions. They also urged the FDA to take enforcement action against marketing that may mislead patients about the company’s products.
In response, a spokesperson for Hims & Hers said the company shares the senators’ belief in the importance of compounding and telehealth as a means to expand access to personalized care. It added that it follows the existing law and is “willing to work with Congress and the new administration to solve systemic issues within the healthcare system.”.
The controversy doesn’t stop at the ad itself. The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a coalition of pharmaceutical nonprofits, called the ad “blatantly misleading” and urged the FDA to enforce laws and regulations that protect Americans from such marketing.
This isn’t the first time Hims & Hers has received public backlash. The company once faced uproar for donating $1 million to former President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee amid negative reactions, especially in their hometown of San Francisco.
The current debate underlines the challenges that have always faced telehealth companies in juggling regulatory frameworks while promoting their services. As such, the growth of the industry provides an ongoing balance between innovative health solutions and adhering to advertising standards, always a key point for companies and regulators alike.
These matters are yet to be addressed by Hims & Hers as the situation unfolds, thus showing how this may affect its current operations and reputation.
