Hims’ Super Bowl weight loss drug ad calls out Big Pharma for high GLP-1 prices

The news: Direct-to-consumer healthcare company Hims & Hers bought a 60-second commercial spot for the Super Bowl as it looks to position itself as an affordable destination for patients seeking weight loss medications.

The ad calls the US healthcare system one that is “built to keep us sick” and doesn’t do enough to support the 74% of American adults who are overweight. The commercial then calls out the drug industry for not making effective weight loss medications affordable for patients while promoting Hims’ treatments as lower-cost alternatives to pricey brand-name GLP-1s.

Zooming out: Hims’ ad references its suite of weight loss treatments but highlights its compounded semaglutide offering, a lower-cost copycat GLP-1 that has become exceedingly popular with patients whose health plans don’t cover the branded equivalents.

Why it matters: The D2C market for weight loss drugs is becoming harder for companies like Hims to operate in.

For one, a regulatory workaround that has allowed Hims and others to sell compounded GLP-1s when brand-name forms are in shortage will expire once the FDA declares Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide as readily available. Companies could sell branded GLP-1s when shortages end, but their competitive advantage from offering lower-priced compounded drugs would be gone. It should be noted that Hims thinks it will be able to keep selling compounded GLP-1s even after shortages end since it personalizes doses and alters drug formulations.

Additionally, there is mounting concern among doctors who view the “non-traditional" (e.g., D2C companies, telehealth platforms) weight loss drug market as problematic, according to a December 2024 Sermo survey.

• Over half (55%) of physician respondents say they are not confident in the competency of non-traditional providers to manage weight loss prescriptions for patients.
• 79% of clinicians say the widespread availability of GLP-1s from non-traditional entities doesn’t allow for proper patient monitoring.
• 76% believe that patients who get prescriptions through these channels aren’t properly educated.
• 58% say prescribers in these settings aren’t familiar enough with the drug’s side effects.

The final word: Hims’ ad is an offensive move against the pharma industry (albeit a prediction we got right in our Health Trends to Watch in 2025 report) for their high medication prices, but it will be pitted against drugmakers’ own campaigns during the Super Bowl.

It’s a bold—and expensive—strategy for Hims, especially considering the uncertain future of compounded weight loss drugs and doctors’ growing apprehension of how these treatments are marketed and sold. Plus, Hims’ commercial criticizes some of the same companies it may have to partner with if it wants to supply and sell brand-name GLP-1s. We’ll check in after the Big Game to review folks’ reactions to the commercials.

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