SNL Director Takes On Every Erectile Dysfunction Advertising Cliché

Roman

By Jeff Beer, Published on December 6, 2017

Our work for Roman was featured in Fast Company. Check it out here if you missed it:

“Men’s health startup Roman launched last month, with a service to diagnose, prescribe, and discreetly deliver erectile dysfunction medication. For its first ad campaign, the brand decided to take on every ad cliché ever associated with the pharma category. Yep, including the bathtubs.

Created with ad agency Circus Maximus, and directed by Saturday Night Live and Funny or Die veteran Mike Bernstein, the spot is a boldly honest take on its touchy subject matter. Circus Maximus co-founder and executive creative director Ryan Kutscher says the idea was to spark a new, more meaningful conversation about erectile dysfunction by illustrating how limited, vague, and stereotypical the conversation has been so far.

“We wanted guys to understand Roman represents the first innovation in the way men address ED since these medications originally hit the market,” says Kutscher. “And we wanted to use humor since it’s a serious and personally felt issue. It ties in a lot of really deeply felt emotions about self-image, masculinity, and virility. But we wanted guys to hear from a brand that treats them like real people, not boner machines. Mike was the perfect director given his brand of humor, style, and experience creating SNL commercials.”