Linette Beaumont, becomes a US TV sensation as the first woman to advertise Viagra, Daily Mail Online



Revealed: The ‘reassuring’ British blonde soap actress who’s become a US TV sensation as the first woman ever to advertise Viagra.
By Sara Nathan for MailOnline 14:15 BST 14 Oct 2014, updated 16:39 BST 14 Oct 2014.
Linette Beaumont, 44, is the first woman to star in a Viagra commercial Drug makers Pfizer polled men, who admitted a woman would motivate them to go to the doctor.
With her smooth and sultry tones, Linette Beaumont has become the first woman to star in a commercial for Viagra.
If the English actress looks vaguely familiar, it’s because she’s made brief appearances in most of Britain’s most popular TV soaps.
The 44-year-old blonde was picked, according to Viagra makers Pfizer, after the company polled men suffering with erectile dysfunction who admitted that a woman would ‘reassure’ them – as well as motivating them to contact their doctor.
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The advert was rolled out last month and Linette’s US debut has entranced American viewers, with one, Patrick Cox, tweeting: ‘ Don’t need Viagra. Just need the hot blonde with the British accent’.
Linette, who lives in the UK, has had parts on British soaps including EastEnders, Holby City, Casualty and The Bill – and appeared in a video called The Taliban Don’t Like My Knickers.
She’s appeared in campaigns for brands including Burberry, as well as adverts for Sony, Perrier and Schwarzkopf.
She filmed the Viagra advert for Pfizer, directed by Jonas Ackerlund, in August. However, she was forced to keep the project a secret up until its release, according to a source.
Reclining in a tropical destination, Linette tells viewers: ‘So guys, it’s just you and your honey. The setting is perfect. But then erectile dysfunction happens again,’ she says before encouraging men to ask their doctor about Viagra. ‘Plenty of guys have this issue – not just getting an erection, but keeping it.’
The commercial has been shown during Sunday Night Football in America and during baseball games, prompting a Twitter storm.
Kyle Friedrich tweeted: ‘Nothing is worse than sitting next your grandma while a hot blonde British woman talks about erections. Thanks Viagra.’
While Joe Remi noted: ‘Ya know, Viagra could save a lot of money on pill production by just sending dudes a DVD of the British lady talking.’
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A Pfizer source told MailOnline: ‘We intend to feature various women during this advertising campaign.
‘We felt the commercial with Linette was the best spot to launch this campaign.’
Advertising creatives at BBDO in New York came up with the idea to use women – and an online survey of men with erectile dysfunction was conducted by Pfizer.
A source said: ‘It’s a new and unexpected approach to de-stigmatize ED, for the first time the adverts will feature a woman reassuring men with ED that they are not alone and motivate them to speak with their doctor.’
The world’s second-biggest drugmaker is looking for ways to boost sales of Viagra, Pfizer’s No. 6 seller, at a time when it is encountering new competition.
Viagra has faced competition from cheaper generic versions in Europe since its patent expired there 15 months ago. Sales fell eight per cent last year, to $1.9 billion. And in three years, Viagra will get generic competition in the U.S., where it costs about $35 a pill. Meanwhile, new competitor Stendra just got approved.
However, a Pfizer source told MailOnline: ‘We’ve always sought to raise men’s awareness of ED as a treatable medical condition, inform them about the benefits and risks of therapy and motivate them to talk to their doctors, regardless of the medicine’s market share position.
‘Pfizer launched this campaign because we’re committed to providing support and resources for men with ED.’
Patents give a drug a monopoly, generally for 20 years. But when those patents expire, cheaper generic versions flood the market, often wiping out most of the brand-name drug’s sales within a year.
Pfizer has seen generic competition for several of its other drugs cut revenue by billions, so it is hoping to stem the revenue losses for Viagra.
The market for ED drugs is big. About half of men over the age of 40 suffer from ED, occasionally or always, yet only 10 per cent take medicine regularly, Dr. Irwin Goldstein told The Associated Press.
Dr Goldstein, who directs the San Diego Sexual Medicine center and has researched sexual disorders for decades, said that having a woman in ads makes sense because women often are more upset by ED than men.
He said men generally dislike going to doctors – and when older men pay a visit, they often linger as the doctor finishes, shifting from one foot to the other in what doctors call ‘the Viagra shuffle.’ Doctors then ask if the man wants Viagra.
Pfizer’s marketing chief, Vic Clavelli, told The Associated Press that the company is trying to take a more direct approach in ads, unlike past ones ‘built around very subtle innuendo.’
Until now, women have been absent or played background roles in the many ads for ED drugs since the first, Viagra, was launched in 1998. Viagra gave men an alternative to penile suppositories, surgery and injections, and 50 million worldwide have since taken it.
Ads for rival Cialis have featured couples getting frisky during everyday activities, then lounging in his-and-hers bathtubs. Viagra ads typically show middle-aged men doing things such as construction work and deep-sea fishing.
‘It’s definitely a unique strategy that could work,’ said Edward Jones health care analyst Ashtyn Evans. ‘The more people they can get loyal to their brand, the better.’