Digital Pharma: Bayer brings the InBed Dr to YouTube

Bayer Schering Pharma has expanded its InBed erectile dysfunction awareness campaign, adding to YouTube 60 short videos that take a factual rather than humorous approach to the problem.

The InBed campaign, which I previewed last month, has as its centre-piece a series of eight animated films, which offer a wry look at "one man's journey from droop to Don Juan".

Bayer's new 'InBed Dr' channel features a UK doctor addressing subjects such as the causes of ED, how it's treated and possible side-effects of PDE5 inhibitors, a group of drugs that includes Bayer's own Levitra, Pfizer's Viagra and Lilly's Cialis.

The global campaign was officially launched two weeks ago and Bayer planned at the time to roll-out a number of country-specific versions in its quest to tackle the highly sensitive subject.

The campaign uses social media, with a particular focus on YouTube, to engage with the target group of men aged 40 and over and to drive traffic to the InBed website, which collects together all the videos and a range of other information.

The 'InBed Dr' YouTube channel joins Bayer's 'InBed Story' channel, which includes the animated films such as this one:

The films were produced in collaboration with Aardman Digital, a division of the Oscar-winning animation studio behind Wallace and Gromit, and UK digital communications agency Profero.

Dominic Tyer is web editor for Pharmafocus and InPharm.com and the author of the Digital Pharma blog. He can be contacted via email, Twitter or LinkedIn.