NARB denies Novartis' appeal for Excedrin ad claims

NEW YORK The National Advertising Review Board last week denied an appeal made by Novartis Consumer Health around the advertising claim that Extra Strength Excedrin relieves pain after 15 minutes.

Following a challenge made by Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus had advised Novartis to discontinue the 15-minute claim.

The challenged television advertisement showed a woman suffering from a headache sitting at a table at an outdoor cafe. A digital clock rapidly advances below her. When the clock indicates 10 minutes had passed, a voiceover asks: “What’s the only gel tab with a triple-ingredient formula to start relieving your headache in just 15 minutes?”

At the 15-minute mark, the woman’s facial expression dramatically changes and she gets up, smiling, to greet someone. The voiceover answers the question by stating “Extra Strength Excedrin. Go.”

Novartis provided a proprietary clinical study that tested Extra Strength Excedrin to determine its efficacy in relieving pain intensity for episodic tension-type headaches, and argued that the clinical trial was sufficient to support an “onset of action” claim that Extra Strength Excedrin started to work on a pharmacological basis after 15 minutes.

The appeal panel agreed with NAD’s initial finding that the proffered substantiation did not provide support for the reasonably conveyed message that typical consumers can reasonably expect a reduction in headache pain within 15 minutes of taking Extra Strength Excedrin.

Novartis agreed to follow NARB's recommendation.