Hims & Hers' Big Game Ad Comes Under Fire

The dust-up puts America's pharma debate in stark perspective

Hims & Hers’ Super Bowl bid exploded across national headlines yesterday, with a :60 for the digital healthcare platform set to air during Sunday’s game drawing intense fire.

The Partnership for Safe Medicines, the Obesity Society, two U.S. senators and other groups blasted the ad’s message as “misleading,” demanding that the Food and Drug Administration block the spot.

“Nowhere in this promotion is there any side-effect disclosure, risk, or safety information, as would be typically required in a pharmaceutical advertisement,” Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) wrote in a letter to the FDA.

Hims and Hers blasted back: “The system is broken, and this is just another example of how they don’t want Americans to know they have options.” The brand says it adheres to “all applicable laws and regulations regarding advertising.” Since Hims & Hers offers compounded weight-loss meds that don’t require FDA approval, it’s unclear if the feds have authority to take action.

The dust-up arrives at a time when Big Pharma has come under increased scrutiny. Hims & Hers decries drug conglomerates and their allies for stirring up the Big Game controversy to cast alternatives in a bad light. The company offers cheaper alternatives to Ozempic and Wegovy.

It’s worth pointing out that just a day or two ago, no one was talking about Hims & Hers. Now, its detractors have thrust the brand into the spotlight. Such massive free publicity—even with negative connotations—could prove priceless.

The commercial uses Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” as its soundtrack. (Which is fitting, ironic or both, depending on your point of view.)

(Which brand will take home the 2025 Super Clio for the Big Game’s best ad? We’ll find out on Feb. 10.)