HARD SELL

New Viagra Ads With Women to Hit TV

New Pfizer ads fronted by ladies.

In an attempt to render impotent the stiff competition from other erectile-dysfunction medicines, Viagra, whose ads typically show middle-age men doing things such as construction work and deep-sea fishing, is launching a new, cuddlier series of commercials fronted by women. The new 60-second ads will feature a middle-age woman speaking to men affected by erectile dysfunction. “So guys, it’s just you and your honey. The setting is perfect. But then erectile dysfunction happens again,” she says in the commercial, which is slated to run during CSI, Blue Bloods, and 48 Hours. Pfizer marketing chief Vic Clavelli said the female-focused ads are more direct, as opposed to the old ones “built around very subtle innuendo.” The new ads reflect the pharmaceutical giant’s fears that Viagra isn’t holding up. Sales fell 8 percent last year, and it will get a generic competition in the U.S. in three years.