48:
1106:
372:. 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
153:
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
131:; 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.
65:
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
248:. 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.
192:
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".
140:
305:
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
379:
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.
115:
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
483:
145:
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141:
143:
695:
975:
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marketing professor Dina
Mayzlin argued that the commercial's crudeness and repetitiveness made it an especially effective advertisement. Jeremy Sheff, writing for the
1038:
307:
144:
182:
described the commercial as an example of blunt force advertising and opined that its unintentional low production value aesthetic made the ad "mesmerizing".
1151:
472:
808:
289:, theorized that the ad's repetition was effective because of the tendency for consumers to perceive familiar brands as more beneficial and less risky.
731:
610:
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74:. The commercial garnered widespread criticism for its loudness, lack of information, repetitiveness, and low production value. No
154:
the product's packaging and either states, "HeadOn is available without a prescription at retailers nationwide" or "available at
234:
222:
1146:
95:
HeadOn gained notoriety due to its repetitive advertisements on late-night and syndicated television programs, such as on
258:"Herein lies the genius of HeadOn, a product that promises nothing, builds no expectations, disappoints no one. It's the
117:
726:
173:
124:. In response, manufacturer Miralus Healthcare removed all factual claims about the product from their commercials.
835:
217:
described the commercial as "obnoxious", and multiple reviewers joked that the commercial gave viewers headaches.
830:
800:
204:
1116:
121:
39:
1141:
721:
298:
31:
599:
112:
71:
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described the commercial as a notorious example of a commercial using loudness as an advertising tactic.
244:
included a parody of the commercial, and other parodies were shared on the online video-sharing platform
594:
557:
369:
194:
429:
392:
pain, RenewIn, a homeopathic brand of energy pills, and PreferOn, a homeopathic scar treatment cream.
78:
has ever found evidence for the product's efficacy, and medical experts have widely described it as a
365:
337:
1033:
970:
228:
102:
1110:
877:
766:
285:
643:
513:
872:
894:
890:
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203:, similarly described the commercial as unique for its lack of information and compared it to
199:
1075:
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562:
361:
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35:
344:, the ingredients are in such small dilutions that the product consists almost entirely of
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The portion of the commercial that elicited widespread media and popular attention
17:
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and parody. Wagner theorized that the unintentional nature of the commercial's
648:
430:"Apply Directly to the Forehead: Lamenting the death of the truly weird TV ad"
357:
325:
272:
59:
495:
478:
389:
155:
1105:
324:
HeadOn is distributed by
Miralus Healthcare in an applicator similar to a
518:
388:
Miralus also launched ActivOn in 2006, a similar homeopathic product for
107:
67:
1036:(2012). "Proposed mechanisms for homeopathy are physically impossible".
47:
245:
79:
62:
772:
213:
138:
127:
Miralus
Healthcare tested a number of potential commercials using
46:
653:
345:
111:. In March 2006, the National Advertising Division of the
328:
and sold at prices between five and eight dollars. While
166:
Responses to the commercial were largely negative, with
473:"Headache commercial hits parody circuit, well, HeadOn"
30:
This article is about the brand. For the village, see
801:"What Can Be Learned By The Worst Medicine Advert?"
765:
683:
598:
471:
158:" without describing the product or its purpose.
1039:Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
997:Salas, Randy A.; Ward, Bill (February 7, 2008).
767:"This Ad Will Give You a Headache, but It Sells"
558:"Head Case: The mesmerizing ad for headache gel"
308:Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act
70:relief but was pulled after objections from the
256:
1028:
1026:
720:Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer (August 22, 2006).
8:
831:"Headache remedy becomes pop culture phenom"
644:"Taking an Annoying Pain Commercial Head On"
172:listing it as the worst commercial of 2006.
27:Topical product claimed to relieve headaches
920:
918:
916:
685:"Rejoice! The End of Ads That Yell at You"
589:
587:
585:
356:HeadOn claims to relieve headaches using
722:"Best and worst commercials of the year"
871:Sheff, Jeremy N. (September 22, 2010).
400:
297:-like style made it the target of free
1065:
1063:
1061:
959:
957:
955:
866:
864:
862:
860:
858:
856:
854:
507:
505:
293:also suggested that the commercial's
7:
1011:from the original on August 10, 2023
964:Redfearn, Suz (September 26, 2006).
940:from the original on August 22, 2006
811:from the original on August 21, 2023
759:
757:
755:
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734:from the original on October 6, 2021
715:
713:
677:
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634:
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551:
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541:
514:"Doctor: 'Head On' No Headache Cure"
465:
463:
461:
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412:
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408:
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404:
901:from the original on August 4, 2023
780:from the original on August 3, 2023
764:Frazier, Mya (September 24, 2007).
698:from the original on August 3, 2023
682:Garber, Megan (December 13, 2012).
613:from the original on August 3, 2023
486:from the original on August 4, 2023
442:from the original on August 3, 2023
978:from the original on March 5, 2016
660:from the original on June 12, 2018
570:from the original on June 21, 2023
526:from the original on June 10, 2020
25:
1152:Internet memes introduced in 2006
887:Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
556:Stevenson, Seth (July 24, 2006).
470:Howard, Theresa (July 31, 2006).
1104:
1079:. September 2007. Archived from
1052:10.1111/j.2042-7166.2012.01162.x
799:Adie, Sarah (October 24, 2022).
1132:American television commercials
512:Dakss, Brian (August 2, 2006).
235:The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
220:The commercial was parodied on
1071:"Headache drug lacks evidence"
223:The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1:
1137:2000s television commercials
118:Food and Drug Administration
1162:Products introduced in 2006
1117:Official website (archived)
370:diluting active ingredients
262:of over-the-counter meds."
1178:
836:United Press International
29:
1157:Film and television memes
340:have been listed as its
122:Federal Trade Commission
58:is an American brand of
40:Head On (disambiguation)
38:. For similar uses, see
930:"Head On Into Quackery"
205:North Korean propaganda
34:. For the surname, see
32:Headon, Nottinghamshire
264:
238:. The 2008 spoof film
150:
113:Better Business Bureau
72:Better Business Bureau
52:
148:
50:
1147:Homeopathic remedies
1113:at Wikimedia Commons
1034:Grimes, David Robert
366:alternative medicine
338:potassium dichromate
971:The Washington Post
229:Saturday Night Live
103:The Weather Channel
1083:on August 19, 2007
999:"Hooey or True-y?"
878:Cardozo Law Review
342:active ingredients
286:Cardozo Law Review
151:
53:
18:Miralus Healthcare
1109:Media related to
928:(July 28, 2006).
642:(July 10, 2006).
606:Los Angeles Times
597:(July 23, 2006).
482:. Money, pp. 1b.
200:Los Angeles Times
197:, writing in the
146:
16:(Redirected from
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1076:Consumer Reports
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873:"Biasing Brands"
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428:(May 29, 2019).
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362:pseudoscientific
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105:, and reruns of
98:Wheel of Fortune
36:Headon (surname)
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839:. July 31, 2006
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1099:External links
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1046:(3): 149–155.
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936:(Newsletter).
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241:Disaster Movie
209:The Today Show
174:Seth Stevenson
169:The Today Show
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76:clinical trial
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1085:. Retrieved
1081:the original
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1037:
1013:. Retrieved
1004:Star Tribune
1002:
992:
980:. Retrieved
969:
942:. Retrieved
933:
926:Randi, James
903:. Retrieved
882:
876:
841:. Retrieved
834:
825:
815:December 20,
813:. Retrieved
804:
794:
782:. Retrieved
771:
736:. Retrieved
725:
700:. Retrieved
691:The Atlantic
689:
662:. Retrieved
647:
640:Unger, Brian
615:. Retrieved
604:
600:"Ad Nauseam"
572:. Retrieved
561:
528:. Retrieved
517:
494:– via
488:. Retrieved
477:
444:. Retrieved
433:
426:Wagner, Kate
387:
378:
355:
334:white bryony
323:
313:The Atlantic
311:
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129:focus groups
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106:
96:
94:
55:
54:
44:
1087:January 23,
435:The Baffler
268:Brian Unger
189:The Baffler
184:Kate Wagner
60:homeopathic
1126:Categories
966:"Head Rub"
805:Voicentric
649:Day to Day
396:References
364:system of
358:homeopathy
326:glue stick
273:Day to Day
91:Background
86:Commercial
1015:August 8,
982:August 3,
905:August 4,
843:August 3,
784:August 3,
738:August 3,
702:August 3,
664:August 3,
617:August 3,
595:Neil, Dan
574:August 3,
496:EBSCOHost
490:August 3,
479:USA Today
446:August 3,
390:arthritis
368:based on
162:Reception
156:Walgreens
1009:Archived
976:Archived
944:July 28,
938:Archived
899:Archived
809:Archived
778:Archived
732:Archived
696:Archived
658:Archived
611:Archived
568:Archived
524:Archived
519:CBS News
484:Archived
440:Archived
352:Efficacy
252:Analysis
195:Dan Neil
120:and the
108:Seinfeld
68:headache
895:1681187
530:May 22,
320:Product
299:airtime
246:YouTube
207:. Both
135:Content
80:placebo
63:topical
1111:HeadOn
893:
773:Ad Age
336:, and
291:Ad Age
270:,
232:, and
214:Ad Age
56:HeadOn
934:Swift
727:Today
563:Slate
179:Slate
1089:2008
1017:2023
984:2023
946:2006
907:2023
891:SSRN
845:2023
817:2022
786:2023
740:2023
704:2023
666:2023
619:2023
576:2023
532:2020
492:2023
448:2023
360:, a
295:camp
281:Yale
211:and
51:Logo
1048:doi
654:NPR
348:.
346:wax
186:of
176:of
1128::
1073:.
1060:^
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1001:.
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885:.
883:32
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20:)
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