Prevacid 24HR to launch with $200 million ad campaign

NEW YORK Novartis will storm the antacid market next week with a $200 million ad campaign behind its launch of Prevacid 24HR, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Television spots to differentiate Prevacid 24HR from its antacid competition — Procter & Gamble’s Prilosec OTC, McNeil Consumer’s Pepcid Complete, Boehringer Ingelheim’s Zantac 150 and GlaxoSmithKline’s Tums, to name just a few — are expected to begin airing Thursday, underscoring the emotional difficulties of heartburn sufferers.

According to the Journal, the tagline for the antacid new addition will be: "Prevacid 24HR: When you've had it with heartburn."