Lilly launches Foundayo ad campaign with Martha Stewart

Eli Lilly has begun its first broad direct-to-consumer advertising campaign for Foundayo, the company's brand of orforglipron, with Martha Stewart as the face of the ads. The campaign went wide in late August 2026 and drew quick pushback in consumer forums, including a Reddit thread in the community r/CommercialsIHate titled "Martha Stewart is shilling weight loss meds now" ^[1].

Much of the criticism in that thread centered on the choice of a spokesperson who, according to the discussion, does not take a GLP-1 medicine herself ^[1]. Lilly's second-quarter financial report, released August 5, 2026, does not mention the campaign or Stewart's role in it ^[2], and the company has not publicly said whether she uses orforglipron or another GLP-1.

Foundayo appeared in Lilly's product table for the first time in the second quarter of 2026, when it was added to the company's list of "Key Products." Lilly reported $98 million in Foundayo revenue for that quarter ^[2]. The company did not disclose how much it is spending on the Foundayo ads. Companywide, marketing, selling and administrative expenses rose 25% to $3.4 billion in the quarter, an increase Lilly attributed primarily to "promotional efforts supporting ongoing and planned launches" ^[2].

The rest of Lilly's metabolic business is far larger. Second-quarter revenue was $23.0 billion, up 48% from $15.6 billion a year earlier ^[2]. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) generated $9.9 billion worldwide, an increase of 91%, and U.S. revenue for Zepbound (tirzepatide) rose 44% to $4.9 billion ^[2]. Lilly said the Zepbound gain came from strong demand, partly offset by lower realized prices, including previously announced cuts to cash-pay prices ^[2]. In the U.S. overall, revenue rose 33% to $14.4 billion on a 37% increase in volume and a 3% decline in realized prices ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

The campaign puts a well-known face in front of a medicine that is still new to the market. Foundayo brought in $98 million in its first reported quarter, a small fraction of the $9.9 billion Mounjaro and $4.9 billion U.S. Zepbound posted in the same period ^[2]. Advertising is often how patients first learn a brand name, but an ad does not determine what a health plan will pay.

Lilly's quarterly report does not say which insurers or pharmacy benefit managers cover Foundayo, or what patients pay at the pharmacy counter for it ^[2]. It also does not describe what Foundayo is approved to treat ^[2]. The report does show that prices patients and payers face are under pressure across Lilly's weight-loss drugs: the company cited lower realized prices for Zepbound and Mounjaro, and it has previously announced reductions in cash-pay prices for Zepbound ^[2].

The dispute over the ads is a separate question from the drug's label. Lilly's release does not address whether Stewart uses the medicine ^[2], and posts in the consumer thread argued that a spokesperson's own experience matters when the product is a prescription treatment ^[1].

What happens next

Lilly said it submitted orforglipron for type 2 diabetes in the United States during the second quarter; the release does not give a date for an FDA decision ^[2]. The company also plans to file a Biologics License Application for retatrutide, its next-generation obesity drug, in the first quarter of 2027, following Phase 3 results in obesity, obstructive sleep apnea and knee osteoarthritis pain ^[2]. Lilly raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $85.0 billion to $87.0 billion ^[2]. The company has not said how long the Foundayo campaign will run.