Back in October, NBA legend and current ABC/ESPN studio analyst
Shaquille O’Neal revealed he had obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in an Eli Lilly awareness campaign
for that condition. But Lina Polimeni, Lilly’s CMO, Consumer, wouldn’t tell Marketing Daily’s Pharma & Health Insider if the icon had been using Zepbound,
Lilly’s weight loss zuggernaut that was also FDA-approved to treat OSA – or if Lilly would start advertising Zepbound directly to OSA patients.
Both questions were answered the
night of June 10, as Lilly launched a multichannel Zepbound campaign featuring O’Neal during game four of the NBA Finals.
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The irony that O’Neal, in addition to having OSA, is also
rather large-framed, was highlighted in the subject line of the email Marketing Daily received from Lilly’s PR agency: “Shaquille O’Neal is on THAT medication… but not
for the reason you might think.”
In fact, the exact approved indication for Zepbound is “moderate-to-severe OSA in adults with obesity,” so O’Neal definitely fits the
bill.
Lilly says he’s using Zepbound “along with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, as part of his OSA treatment plan.”
The campaign, titled
“Watch This,” includes not only national broadcast, but streaming, digital and social platforms, along with in-person community events and appearances.
“In his own
voice,” Lilly says, “O’Neal shares the symptoms he dismissed for years and why he decided to take action, pointing audiences to resources at zepbound.lilly.com to
recognize their own symptoms and connect with care and treatment options.”
“For a long time, I was tired during the day, not sleeping well at night, and I just thought that’s how it was
for someone my size,” said O’Neal in a statement. “When my doctor told me I had moderate obstructive sleep apnea, it clicked — this wasn’t just about snoring, it was a real health condition. Being
prescribed Zepbound helped make a difference for me in my OSA treatment journey; I even lost some weight. If sharing my story helps even one person talk to their doctor, that’s a win.”
The
target audience? Lilly says that moderate-to-severe OSA, described as a “serious but often overlooked condition,” affects approximately 24 million adults in the
US, many of whom have obesity.
According to GQ, O’Neal was first diagnosed with OSA in 2011.
His use of Zepbound might give him something else to
talk about with fellow ABC/ESPN in-studio NBA analyst Charles Barkley, a Zepbound user for weight loss who began appearing in Ro GLP-1 commercials during last year’s NBA Playoffs.
