Pharmaceutical companies are consistently big spenders when it comes to TV advertising; in fact, of the top 30 industries that spent the most on TV commercials in Q2 2019, four are in the pharma field: three for prescription medications and one for over-the-counter medication. And earlier this week, two of the biggest companies (Merck and Pfizer) announced their Q2 earnings.

We used insights from always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to examine Q2 advertising trends for some of the top-spending brands owned by Merck and Pfizer.

Bravecto (Merck)

• Est. TV spend: $15.5 million
  • a decrease of 5.97% from Q1 2019
  • a decrease of 42.02% from Q2 2018  
• TV ad impressions: 921 million 
  • a decrease of 5.73% from Q1 2019
  • a decrease of 37.60% from Q2 2018  
• Total spots: 2
• Total airings: 5,989
• Top networks by impressions: CBS, ABC, Lifetime Movies
• Top networks by spend: ABC, CBS, HGTV
• Top programming by impressions: The Price Is Right, The Young and the Restless, The Talk
• Top programming by spend: Strahan & Sara, The View, General Hospital 
• Most-seen spot: “Protect Your Dog From Fleas & Ticks” (919.5 million impressions)

• Spot with best iSpot Attention Score*: “Parque de perros” (Spanish-language ad) (94.58)

Keytruda (Merck)

• Est. TV spend: $55.9K 
  • a decrease of 99.83% from Q1 2019
  • a decrease of 99.78% from Q2 2018  
• TV ad impressions: 10.2 million 
  • a decrease of 98.88% from Q1 2019
  • a decrease of 98.67% from Q2 2018  
• Total spots: 1 - “It's TRU: Katy and Dr. Kloecker's Story: Living Longer Is Possible” (Attention Score: 84.65)
• Total airings: 7
• Top networks by impressions: NBC, ABC, Oprah Winfrey Network
• Top networks by spend: TNT, Bravo, Investigation Discovery
• Top programming by impressions: World of Dance, Dateline NBC, General Hospital
• Top programming by spend: Beauty and the Beast, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Evil Lives Here

Chantix (Pfizer)

• Est. TV spend: $47.5 million
  • an increase of 33.71% from Q1 2019
  • an increase of 150.43% from Q2 2018  
• TV ad impressions: 2.3 billion
  • an increase of 45.47% from Q1 2019
  • an increase of 129.23% from Q2 2018  
• Total spots: 3
• Total airings: 7,332
• Top networks by impressions: CBS, ABC, Fox News
• Top networks by spend: CBS, ABC, NBC
• Top programming by impressions: ABC World News Tonight With David Muir, NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt, Good Morning America 
• Top programming by spend: The Big Bang Theory, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, ABC World News Tonight With David Muir
• Most-seen spot: “Slow Turkey” (1 billion impressions) 

• Spot with best iSpot Attention Score: “Cold Turkey” (95.76)

Xeljanz (Pfizer)

• Est. TV spend: $46.9 million
  • a decrease of 52.19% from Q1 2019
  • an increase of 17.87% from Q2 2018  
• TV ad impressions: 1.4 billion 
  • a decrease of 59.74% from Q1 2019
  • a decrease of 11.47% from Q2 2018  
• Total spots: 4
• Total airings: 3,717
• Top networks by impressions: CBS, NBC, ABC
• Top networks by spend: CBS, ABC, NBC
• Top programming by impressions: NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt, ABC World News Tonight With David Muir, Good Morning America
• Top programming by spend: The Big Bang Theory, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt
• Most-seen spot: “A Different Direction” (645.1 million impressions)

• Spot with best iSpot Attention Score: “Gymnastics” (94.28)

Eliquis (Pfizer)

• Est. TV spend: $36.7 million
  • an increase of 8.80% from Q1 2019
  • an increase of 7.69% from Q2 2018  
• TV ad impressions: 1.4 billion 
  • an increase of 16.29% from Q1 2019
  • an increase of 4.49% from Q2 2018  
• Total spots: 3
• Total airings: 2,326
• Top networks by impressions: CBS, ABC, NBC
• Top networks by spend: CBS, ABC, NBC
• Top programming by impressions: NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt, ABC World News Tonight With David Muir, The Five
• Top programming by spend: Wheel of Fortune, NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt, ABC World News Tonight With David Muir,
• Most-seen spot: “Around the Corner” (596.2 million impressions)

• Spot with best iSpot Attention Score: “Around the Corner” (93.17)

*The iSpot Attention Score measures the average percentage of an ad that is played across a TV device.

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