Marketing fun with Pfizer and Sinovac

 

[Avatar with syringe*]

With a plethora of COVID-19 vaccines on the market or in the pipeline, it is clear that within the foreseeable future, oversupply and competition will occur. As humor is often the best medicine, it would be entertaining to consider how these mighty and not-so-mighty brands can market their products to the future masses that will require the initial or booster doses. As the Chevy’s marketing department in the 1950s and 1960’s insisted, the key for a successful ad is the story, not the technical details. I playfully propose two vaccine ads:

[Red carpet]

Scene: an elegantly dressed couple walks down a street in New York with confident strides, almost ignoring the people around them, who seem to move of their way. They resemble a New Yorker cartoon, for those who remember those. Imagine a deep, male voice.

Script: Some people have it. The confidence to feel in control where ever they are. What gives this couple that feeling of invincibility? It is not the tailored designer clothes they are wearing. Nor is it the elegant but comfortable Italian leather shoes on their feet. No, it is the Pfizer vaccination they took just a week ago. They could have settled for any old vaccine but they insisted on the best and know, with Pfizer on their side, they can conquer the world. Do you want that feeling?  Get yourself a Pfizer. You are worth it.

To quote Monty Python, and now for something different:

[Chinese wise man]

Scene: a Chinese couple dressed in simple traditional clothing sits at the head of a large table covered with food delicacies and surrounded by their family.

In China, being wealthy does not earn you respect but how you get there does. Believers in the saying that a fool and his money are soon parted, they seek and respect value. Anybody can pay more and receive less but only the wise know how to attain the perfect product at the perfect price. That is why these parents chose to take the Sinovac vaccination over the more expensive brands and now serve as a shining example for this family and community. Show your wisdom. Insist on the Sinovac vaccination.

Granted that modern ads are often on YouTube, Tweeter, Facebook and other social media and have a very different style. In addition, by law, these ads would be followed by one minute of the fastest possible recitation of the potential side effects and a reminder to consult your doctor, which would spoil the whole effect. Still, in my opinion, the message would still work as it does for perfume. Besides, we all need a good laugh and a reminder that some kind of normal will eventually and shortly return.

* The blind need captions for access. All picture though Pixabay.