37:
1095:
129:
361:. No clinical trial has ever shown that HeadOn or any of its active ingredients provide headache relief. While Miralus claims that the product has been studied, no relevant data has ever been released to the public. Medical experts have widely stated that any perceived headache relief from the product is the result of the
142:
The commercial starts by showing a woman applying HeadOn on her forehead against a monochromatic background. The tagline "HeadOn: Apply directly to the forehead" is stated three times in a loud monotone voice while a large yellow arrow points at her forehead. The commercial then cuts to an image of
120:; the focus groups reportedly recalled ads with repetition much more than with any other method. Despite the largely negative reception to the commercial, Dan Charron, vice president of sales and marketing at Miralus, stated that nobody in the focus groups had told him that the ads were irritating.
54:
headache products owned by the
Florida-based Miralus Healthcare. The brand achieved notoriety as a result of a viral 2006 commercial consisting only of the tagline "HeadOn: Apply directly to the forehead" repeated three times. An earlier commercial claimed the product provided
237:. Sales for HeadOn dramatically increased after the advertising campaign, doubling sales year-on-year from 2005 to 2006. The commercial has been described as a highly effective marketing campaign, though it is unclear if Miralus Healthcare ever turned a profit.
181:
compared the actor's expression to a "military commander on a Maoist poster" and described the commercial as both "bizarre" and "unsettling". Wagner further said that the commercial was "unlike anything actual humans would reasonably produce to sell something".
130:
132:
294:
made it one of the first and most effective instances of a brand employing absurdist advertising tactics. Both Wagner and
Stevenson suggested that the brand's relatively unknown status improved the effectiveness of the ad. In a piece on the
368:
The dilution technique employed by the product leaves only trace amounts of its active ingredients, and no scientific evidence suggests that dilutions are effective in releasing the medicinal properties of any ingredients.
133:
134:
104:
objected to an older HeadOn commercial that claimed that HeadOn provided headache relief, citing insufficient evidence that the product was effective. The organization threatened to forward the case to the
472:
1059:
684:
964:
131:
272:
marketing professor Dina
Mayzlin argued that the commercial's crudeness and repetitiveness made it an especially effective advertisement. Jeremy Sheff, writing for the
171:
described the commercial as an example of blunt force advertising and opined that its unintentional low production value aesthetic made the ad "mesmerizing".
461:
797:
278:, theorized that the ad's repetition was effective because of the tendency for consumers to perceive familiar brands as more beneficial and less risky.
720:
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63:. The commercial garnered widespread criticism for its loudness, lack of information, repetitiveness, and low production value. No
143:
the product's packaging and either states, "HeadOn is available without a prescription at retailers nationwide" or "available at
1125:
86:
1150:
84:
HeadOn gained notoriety due to its repetitive advertisements on late-night and syndicated television programs, such as on
247:"Herein lies the genius of HeadOn, a product that promises nothing, builds no expectations, disappoints no one. It's the
1145:
875:
113:. In response, manufacturer Miralus Healthcare removed all factual claims about the product from their commercials.
206:
described the commercial as "obnoxious", and multiple reviewers joked that the commercial gave viewers headaches.
819:
789:
223:
1105:
211:
1135:
710:
588:
106:
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described the commercial as a notorious example of a commercial using loudness as an advertising tactic.
233:
included a parody of the commercial, and other parodies were shared on the online video-sharing platform
162:
546:
824:
418:
381:
pain, RenewIn, a homeopathic brand of energy pills, and PreferOn, a homeopathic scar treatment cream.
67:
has ever found evidence for the product's efficacy, and medical experts have widely described it as a
193:
110:
28:
1130:
1099:
755:
287:
20:
632:
502:
861:
101:
60:
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192:, similarly described the commercial as unique for its lack of information and compared it to
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358:
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333:, the ingredients are in such small dilutions that the product consists almost entirely of
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8:
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The portion of the commercial that elicited widespread media and popular attention
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and parody. Wagner theorized that the unintentional nature of the commercial's
229:
157:
64:
419:"Apply Directly to the Forehead: Lamenting the death of the truly weird TV ad"
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992:
679:
322:
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283:
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HeadOn is distributed by
Miralus Healthcare in an applicator similar to a
914:
628:
423:
414:
377:
Miralus also launched ActivOn in 2006, a similar homeopathic product for
256:
177:
172:
117:
1025:(2012). "Proposed mechanisms for homeopathy are physically impossible".
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346:
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56:
116:
Miralus
Healthcare tested a number of potential commercials using
234:
68:
51:
1094:
761:
202:
36:
100:. In March 2006, the National Advertising Division of the
642:
334:
317:
and sold at prices between five and eight dollars. While
155:
Responses to the commercial were largely negative, with
462:"Headache commercial hits parody circuit, well, HeadOn"
19:
This article is about the brand. For the village, see
790:"What Can Be Learned By The Worst Medicine Advert?"
754:
672:
587:
460:
147:" without describing the product or its purpose.
1112:
1028:Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
986:Salas, Randy A.; Ward, Bill (February 7, 2008).
756:"This Ad Will Give You a Headache, but It Sells"
547:"Head Case: The mesmerizing ad for headache gel"
297:Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act
59:relief but was pulled after objections from the
1017:
1015:
709:Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer (August 22, 2006).
820:"Headache remedy becomes pop culture phenom"
633:"Taking an Annoying Pain Commercial Head On"
161:listing it as the worst commercial of 2006.
16:Topical product claimed to relieve headaches
1012:
909:
907:
905:
674:"Rejoice! The End of Ads That Yell at You"
985:
578:
576:
574:
544:
345:HeadOn claims to relieve headaches using
952:
711:"Best and worst commercials of the year"
127:
35:
902:
860:Sheff, Jeremy N. (September 22, 2010).
781:
752:
286:-like style made it the target of free
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282:also suggested that the commercial's
1000:from the original on August 10, 2023
953:Redfearn, Suz (September 26, 2006).
929:from the original on August 22, 2006
800:from the original on August 21, 2023
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723:from the original on October 6, 2021
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503:"Doctor: 'Head On' No Headache Cure"
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890:from the original on August 4, 2023
769:from the original on August 3, 2023
753:Frazier, Mya (September 24, 2007).
687:from the original on August 3, 2023
671:Garber, Megan (December 13, 2012).
602:from the original on August 3, 2023
475:from the original on August 4, 2023
431:from the original on August 3, 2023
13:
1047:
967:from the original on March 5, 2016
941:
840:
649:from the original on June 12, 2018
559:from the original on June 21, 2023
515:from the original on June 10, 2020
491:
14:
1162:
1141:Internet memes introduced in 2006
1087:
876:Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
735:
699:
661:
614:
545:Stevenson, Seth (July 24, 2006).
527:
459:Howard, Theresa (July 31, 2006).
443:
390:
372:
1093:
1068:. September 2007. Archived from
1041:10.1111/j.2042-7166.2012.01162.x
788:Adie, Sarah (October 24, 2022).
1121:American television commercials
979:
812:
501:Dakss, Brian (August 2, 2006).
224:The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
209:The commercial was parodied on
1060:"Headache drug lacks evidence"
212:The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1:
384:
79:
74:
1126:2000s television commercials
150:
107:Food and Drug Administration
7:
1151:Products introduced in 2006
1106:Official website (archived)
359:diluting active ingredients
340:
251:of over-the-counter meds."
240:
10:
1167:
825:United Press International
308:
123:
18:
1146:Film and television memes
329:have been listed as its
111:Federal Trade Commission
47:is an American brand of
29:Head On (disambiguation)
27:. For similar uses, see
919:"Head On Into Quackery"
194:North Korean propaganda
23:. For the surname, see
21:Headon, Nottinghamshire
253:
227:. The 2008 spoof film
139:
102:Better Business Bureau
61:Better Business Bureau
41:
245:
137:
39:
1136:Homeopathic remedies
1102:at Wikimedia Commons
1023:Grimes, David Robert
355:alternative medicine
327:potassium dichromate
960:The Washington Post
218:Saturday Night Live
92:The Weather Channel
1072:on August 19, 2007
988:"Hooey or True-y?"
867:Cardozo Law Review
331:active ingredients
275:Cardozo Law Review
140:
42:
1098:Media related to
917:(July 28, 2006).
631:(July 10, 2006).
595:Los Angeles Times
586:(July 23, 2006).
471:. Money, pp. 1b.
189:Los Angeles Times
186:, writing in the
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1065:Consumer Reports
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862:"Biasing Brands"
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417:(May 29, 2019).
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351:pseudoscientific
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94:, and reruns of
87:Wheel of Fortune
25:Headon (surname)
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1088:External links
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1035:(3): 149–155.
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925:(Newsletter).
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373:Other products
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363:placebo effect
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230:Disaster Movie
198:The Today Show
163:Seth Stevenson
158:The Today Show
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65:clinical trial
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1074:. Retrieved
1070:the original
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1002:. Retrieved
993:Star Tribune
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969:. Retrieved
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931:. Retrieved
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915:Randi, James
892:. Retrieved
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830:. Retrieved
823:
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804:December 20,
802:. Retrieved
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771:. Retrieved
760:
725:. Retrieved
714:
689:. Retrieved
680:The Atlantic
678:
651:. Retrieved
636:
629:Unger, Brian
604:. Retrieved
593:
589:"Ad Nauseam"
561:. Retrieved
550:
517:. Retrieved
506:
483:– via
477:. Retrieved
466:
433:. Retrieved
422:
415:Wagner, Kate
376:
367:
344:
323:white bryony
312:
302:The Atlantic
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118:focus groups
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83:
44:
43:
33:
1076:January 23,
424:The Baffler
257:Brian Unger
178:The Baffler
173:Kate Wagner
49:homeopathic
1115:Categories
955:"Head Rub"
794:Voicentric
638:Day to Day
385:References
353:system of
347:homeopathy
315:glue stick
262:Day to Day
80:Background
75:Commercial
1004:August 8,
971:August 3,
894:August 4,
832:August 3,
773:August 3,
727:August 3,
691:August 3,
653:August 3,
606:August 3,
584:Neil, Dan
563:August 3,
485:EBSCOHost
479:August 3,
468:USA Today
435:August 3,
379:arthritis
357:based on
151:Reception
145:Walgreens
998:Archived
965:Archived
933:July 28,
927:Archived
888:Archived
798:Archived
767:Archived
721:Archived
685:Archived
647:Archived
600:Archived
557:Archived
513:Archived
508:CBS News
473:Archived
429:Archived
341:Efficacy
241:Analysis
184:Dan Neil
109:and the
97:Seinfeld
57:headache
884:1681187
519:May 22,
309:Product
288:airtime
235:YouTube
196:. Both
124:Content
69:placebo
52:topical
1100:HeadOn
882:
762:Ad Age
325:, and
280:Ad Age
259:,
221:, and
203:Ad Age
45:HeadOn
923:Swift
716:Today
552:Slate
168:Slate
1078:2008
1006:2023
973:2023
935:2006
896:2023
880:SSRN
834:2023
806:2022
775:2023
729:2023
693:2023
655:2023
608:2023
565:2023
521:2020
481:2023
437:2023
349:, a
284:camp
270:Yale
200:and
40:Logo
1037:doi
643:NPR
337:.
335:wax
175:of
165:of
1117::
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
