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Eli Lilly’s new ad says weight-loss drugs shouldn’t be used out of “vanity”
Eli Lilly has a message for people who are taking prescription medications developed for patients with Type 2 diabetes and obesity: Don’t take the drugs just because you want to look good.
The message, delivered in an a new Hollywood-themed ad called “Big Night,” will air this weekend and is timed to coincide with Sunday’s broadcast of the Oscars. The spot opens with a shot of a sequined gown, suggesting that the woman voicing the campaign is preparing for a formal event.
“Some people have been using medicine never meant for them. For the smaller dress or tux, for a big night, for vanity,” the character in the ad says. The camera then pans to a theater resembling the one in which the Academy Awards are handed out. The point is clear: Drugs like Lilly’s Mounjaro or Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy aren’t intended for general weight loss.
“People whose health is affected by obesity are the reason we work on these medications. It matters who gets them,” the ad says.
Mounjaro is used to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes. But the drug and similar medications have soared in popularity among people who aren’t diabetic but who want to shed a few pounds to improve their appearance. Lilly also makes Zepbound, which is indicated for adults with obesity.
This year’s Oscars host, Jimmy Kimmel, opened the 2023 awards ceremony by poking fun at Ozempic.
“Everybody looks so great. When I look around this room I can’t help but wonder, ‘Is Ozempic right for me?'” he quipped.
“Part of the cultural dialogue”
In a statement ahead of its new ad, Lilly underlined in a statement that people shouldn’t take drugs like Mounjaro just because they want to look better.
The ad “addresses a topic that has been part of the cultural dialogue at recent high-profile awards ceremonies: the use of anti-obesity medications outside their FDA-approved indications,” the company said. “Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority, and our medicines are indicated for the treatment of serious diseases.”
The drugmaker also makes clear that the medications are only approved for certain uses.
“They were not studied for, are not approved for, and should not be used for cosmetic weight loss, and at Lilly we believe it is important that, in consultation with their health care providers, the right people can get access to these medicines,” Lilly said.
In a separate open letter regarding how such drugs are use, Lilly said “stands against the use of its medicines for cosmetic weight loss.”
Barry Enderwick is eating his way through history, one sandwich at a time. Every day from his home in San Jose, California, Enderwick posts a cooking video from a recipe that time forgot. From the 1905 British book “Salads, Sandwiches and Savouries,” Enderwick prepared the New York Sandwich.
The recipe called for 24 oysters, minced and mixed with mayonnaise, seasoned with lemon juice and pepper, and spread over buttered day-old French bread.
Rescuing recipes from the dustbin of history doesn’t always lead to culinary success. Sampling his New York Sandwich, Enderwick decried it as “a textural wasteland. No, thank you.” Into the trash bin it went!
But Enderwick’s efforts have yielded his own cookbook, a collection of some of the strangest – and sometimes unexpectedly delicious – historical recipes you’ve never heard of.
Harvard Common Press
He even has a traveling stage show: “Sandwiches of History Live.”
From the condiments to the sliced bread, this former Netflix executive has become something of a sandwich celebrity. “You can put just about anything in-between two slices of bread,” he said. “And it’s portable! In general, a sandwich is pretty easy fare. And so, they just have universal appeal.”
Though the sandwich gets its name famously from the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, the earliest sandwich Enderwick has eaten dates from 200 B.C.E. China, a seared beef sandwich called Rou Jia Mo.
He declared it delicious. “Between the onions, and all those spices and the soy sauce … oh my God! Oh man, this is so good!”
While Elvis was famous for his peanut butter and banana concoction, Enderwick says there’s another celebrity who should be more famous for his sandwich: Gene Kelly, who he says had “the greatest man sandwich in the world, which was basically mashed potatoes on bread. And it was delicious.”
Whether it’s a peanut and sardine sandwich (from “Blondie’s Cook Book” from 1947), or the parmesian radish sandwich (from 1909’s “The Up-To-Date Sandwich Book”), Enderwick tries to get a taste of who we were – good or gross – one recipe at a time.
RECIPE: A sophisticated club sandwich
Blogger Barry Enderwick, of Sandwiches of History, offers “Sunday Morning” viewers a 1958 recipe for a club sandwich that, he says, shouldn’t work, but actually does, really well!
MORE: “Sunday Morning” 2024 “Food Issue” recipe index
Delicious menu suggestions from top chefs, cookbook authors, food writers, restaurateurs, and the editors of Food & Wine magazine.
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Story produced by Anthony Laudato. Editor: Chad Cardin.
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