Created from the merger of Mallinckrodt and Endo last year, Keenova is launching the first Dupuytren's contracture campaign under its new moniker.
Dubbed “Don’t Be a Viking,” the latest awareness project plays on the condition's nickname, “Viking hand,” given its early predominance in Northern Europe.
The campaign comes in the form of an ad and an associated website, aimed at boosting awareness of the disease and potential treatments.
The ad uses humor—a staple in Endo’s commercial arsenal before the merger—to show a stereotypical Viking struggling with a jar of pickles and angrily staring down at his hands. The narrator intones that “Vikings like to solve problems … the Viking way.”
We then see the Viking take an ax to the pickle jar, with inevitable results. The narrator says you don’t have to do things the Viking way, or rely solely on surgery, a medical standard for the condition.
Instead, viewers are told they can seek a nonsurgical treatment. We then see the Viking transform into a modern-day man while visiting his doctor.
The spots will run nationwide on broadcast and cable TV, including ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, Golf Channel, Tennis Channel, CNN and Fox News, Keenova said in a May 4 statement.
The campaign will also run on streaming platforms such as Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, Paramount+ and Peacock, as well as across social media, digital display, online video and search, “and is supported by materials in healthcare settings.”
Last year, Mallinckrodt and Endo’s branded medicines business became Keenova Therapeutics amid a merger. The company now markets the nonsurgical treatment Xiaflex, the only drug option approved for Dupuytren's contracture.
Dupuytren’s is caused by collagen that forms a ropelike cord in the hand and can prevent people from straightening their fingers.
The condition, which affects an estimated 13 million Americans, can progress to the point that it becomes difficult to perform daily tasks and activities using the hands.
Before becoming Keenova, Endo launched several campaigns for Xiaflex, including a 2024 effort known as the “Reminders” campaign, which encouraged people with Dupuytren’s to advocate for themselves and their preferred treatment approach.
In February last year, it also debuted its first branded TV commercial in the indication, “Steve’s Journey.”
Endo also tapped former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway to help lead its “Facts on Hand” awareness campaign in 2019, though it later opted for more patient-centric, less celebrity-focused stories after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, which later became part of Endo, first won approval for Xiaflex in Dupuytren's contracture in 2010.
The drug was also approved in 2013 for Peyronie’s disease, a condition that can cause a bend in the penis. Previous campaigns for this disorder have also leaned into humor, most notably the “Bent Carrot” ad.