Drugmaker Eli Lilly releases an ad criticizing people who use weight-loss drugs for cosmetic purposes

Ahead of the 2024 Academy Awards, a serious pharmaceutical company used a 30-second ad slot to criticize people taking medications for the incorrect reasons, including Hollywood stars.

Eli Lilly, the corporate behind Zepbound and Mounjaro, has slammed those who use weight-loss drugs in the event that they don’t meet medical requirements as a part of its “Big Night” campaign People reported.

The ad began with a voiceover that said, “Some people were taking drugs that were never intended for them. For a smaller dress or tuxedo, for an essential evening, for vanity.

“But that’s not the point,” he added, showing the red carpet, paparazzi and a girl arranging a spectacular dress.

Mounjaro and Zepbound are brand names tyrzepatid, which reduces appetite and improves the distribution of sugar and fat within the body. Mounjaro is FDA-approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, while Zepbound is FDA-approved for the treatment of obesity.

The ad also contains a casually dressed woman using public transport.

“The reason we are working on these drugs is for people whose health is affected by obesity,” the narrator continued. “What matters is who gets it.”

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Mounjaro and Zepbound have increased in popularity over the past yr, partly resulting from the widespread use of competing drugs from Novo Nordisk semaglutide — marketed under the names Ozempic and Wegovy — for off-label use for weight reduction.

According to People, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told CNN that drug corporations developed drugs for people with serious health problems, not “just to make someone who’s famous look a little better.”

Ricks stated that the primary purpose of the ad was to lift awareness of Obesity care week. However, this weekend’s Oscars were a bonus for their message against using these drugs for “vanity.”

“There happens to be a big awards show at the end of the week, the Oscars,” Ricks said, as reported by People magazine. “So we’re kind of using this moment to juxtapose these two ideas, that this is a serious disease with a serious cure. We need to use language to talk about condition beyond the size of the dress you fit into or whatever. That’s not the point.”