Bayer has unveiled the next play in its Nubeqa marketing strategy, tapping NFL quarterback-turned-CBS commentator Tony Romo for a campaign in support of its fast-growing prostate cancer drug.
The “Highlights REAL” campaign, which Bayer kicked off Thursday, stars Romo, who played for the Dallas Cowboys before stepping into the commentary booth, in a series of videos about life with prostate cancer. Across a trio of clips, Romo talks with a patient taking Nubeqa, a caregiver of a person with advanced prostate cancer and an oncologist.
Romo’s father, Ramiro, who has faced prostate cancer but isn’t a Nubeqa patient, joins his son in the main video on the branded campaign website. Sitting side by side, Tony and Ramiro provide play-by-play commentary on advanced prostate cancer patients and their caregivers going about their lives, including by making model cars, playing softball, brewing coffee, fishing and cooking.
Bayer said in the campaign launch announcement that the commentary is intended to fuel “a deeper appreciation for everyday moments, both big and small,” and to spark conversations about prostate cancer.
The company’s football-centric prostate cancer push debuted the same day as another Big Pharma’s: Novartis on Thursday unveiled an ad set to air during Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 that also features NFL stars talking about the disease, though Novartis took an unbranded approach with its campaign, which focuses primarily on encouraging men to undergo regular prostate-specific antigen blood tests for early detection.
Bayer didn’t list a Super Bowl ad among its campaign’s outreach channels, and, with the big game airing on NBC next month, CBS-based Romo won’t be calling it this year. But, with Bayer’s campaign coinciding with a period when football is very much in the national spotlight, the drugmaker could certainly benefit from the annual surge in interest in the sport.
Nubeqa, a key product for the drugmaker, won FDA approval in 2019, but it took a few years for the launch to kick into high gear. Having recorded its first year of blockbuster Nubeqa sales in 2024, Bayer maintained the momentum with 56% growth over the first nine months of last year.