EDO finds pharma NFL ads about twice as effective as prime-time averages

Pharma commercials that aired during the 2025-26 NFL regular season were about 104% more effective than the average pharma ad shown on prime-time broadcast and cable TV, according to a new report from TV measurement firm EDO ^[1]. EDO says a pharma ad would need to run 69 times on an average prime-time show to match the impact of just one airing during a regular-season NFL game ^[1].

EDO measures effectiveness by tracking how likely an ad is to drive viewer engagement, on a per-person, per-second basis ^[1]. By that measure, pharma ads on NFL broadcasts were also 9% more effective than during the prior season, even as the volume of ads increased. There were 332 pharma spots across the 18-week season, a 13% jump from the year before, or roughly 18 pharma ads airing during NFL games each week ^[1].

Eli Lilly's Zepbound, a tirzepatide obesity drug, was the standout. The brand ran one ad per week and posted 519% higher effectiveness than the average pharma advertiser, making it the season's top brand ^[1]. A specific 60-second Zepbound spot, which accounted for half of the drug's airings, was rated the single most effective commercial of the season, at 439% above the pharma average ^[1]. Lilly also ran 12 separate corporate or awareness ads, including one featuring actress Julianne Moore on brain health, and that campaign scored 65% above average, making "Lilly Corporate" the third most effective advertiser overall ^[1].

Telehealth company Ro ranked second among brands, with 12 ads that were 246% more effective than average ^[1]. A 30-second spot featuring Serena Williams promoting GLP-1 medications, which made up half of Ro's airings, was the fourth most effective individual ad of the season, at 119% above average ^[1]. Ro says it plans to bring Williams back for a new ad debuting in the Super Bowl ^[1]. Other top-five brands included Amgen's Otezla, a plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis drug (10 airings, 18% more effective), and Novartis' Pluvicto, a prostate cancer treatment (13 airings, 11% more effective) ^[1]. Other notable individual ads came from Sanofi/Regeneron's Dupixent, targeting eosinophilic esophagitis (seven airings, 307% more effective), Dexcom's G7 glucose monitor (five airings, 141% more effective), and Johnson & Johnson's Caplyta, a bipolar depression drug (seven airings, 25% more effective) ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

These numbers describe how ads perform as marketing, not how drugs perform in the body. But the scale of the spending and the reach of these campaigns help explain why patients keep seeing GLP-1 drugs like Zepbound advertised so heavily during football games, and why that messaging may shape what patients ask their doctors about. The report does not include any clinical information, side effect data, or comparisons between drugs, so viewers cannot use ad effectiveness scores to judge which medication might work better or be safer for them ^[1].

The report also shows that direct-to-consumer telehealth companies like Ro are competing for the same NFL audience as large drugmakers, using celebrity spokespeople such as Serena Williams to promote GLP-1 prescribing services rather than a specific branded drug ^[1]. That distinction matters because ads for telehealth platforms may function differently than ads for a single medication, potentially steering viewers toward a provider or subscription service rather than a specific treatment decision made with a doctor.

What happens next

Ro has said it will air a new ad featuring Serena Williams during the Super Bowl, marking the brand's debut in that broadcast ^[1]. Other pharma companies with ads set to appear in the same game include Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Hims & Hers, and Boehringer Ingelheim, according to the report ^[1]. EDO's findings suggest that NFL advertising, including in the Super Bowl, will likely remain a major venue for GLP-1 and other drug marketing in the near term ^[1].