Hims & Hers just lit a fire under Big Pharma—and the FDA might be coming with a hose.
The telehealth brand, known for making once-taboo health topics clickable, took aim at the weight-loss industry in its first Super Bowl ad. The message? “There are medications that work, but they’re priced for profits, not patients.” Spicy. And true. But also, potentially misleading—at least according to two U.S. senators, consumer watchdogs, and, of course, Novo Nordisk.
Here’s the problem: Hims & Hers is selling compounded GLP-1s—unregulated, non-FDA-approved versions of the blockbuster weight-loss drugs. They mentioned that fact in the ad… if you could read the microscopic fine print that flashed on screen for about two seconds.
Lawmakers say that’s not good enough. Novo Nordisk, which makes the GLP-1s you’ve heard of (Ozempic, Wegovy), came out swinging the next morning with a full-page ad warning: “Do you really know what you’re injecting into your body?”
Shots fired.
The reality? Hims & Hers, and brands like it, are moving fast, skipping red tape, and offering something Big Pharma can’t: convenience, anonymity, and a price tag that doesn’t require selling a kidney. Patients are choosing speed over safety assurances, and right now, the rules haven’t caught up.
But they will. The FDA is being pushed to crack down, and sooner or later, these telehealth disruptors will have to play by the same rules as the pharma giants they’re dragging. Until then, it’s a race—one fueled by memes, marketing, and a whole lot of compounded semaglutide.
So, what’s the real lesson here?
Speed wins. Relevance wins. But so does trust. Hims & Hers nailed the cultural moment and took their shot—but in doing so, they opened themselves up to scrutiny they should have seen coming. If you’re going to disrupt, do it with eyes wide open. Move fast, but don’t give your competitors (or regulators) the ammo to shoot you down.
At Parallel Path, we love a challenger brand. We love scrappy marketing that cuts through the noise. But we also know there’s a fine line between being bold and getting blindsided. The best marketing doesn’t just make a splash—it anticipates the ripple effect.
And if you don’t, your competition will be more than happy to do it for you.