What Healthcare Creative Teams Can Learn from Jon Hamm and SNL

If you work in healthcare marketing, chances are you’ve sat through a fair number of pharmaceutical advertisements that start to feel a little… familiar. Maybe there’s a couple walking slowly along a beach, maybe someone is gardening with an inexplicably big smile, or maybe there’s a group hike with people who look like they were just dropped in from a stock photo site. It’s peaceful. It’s slow-motion. And it's completely interchangeable from one brand to another.

Apparently, the writers at Saturday Night Live have noticed, too.

In a recent episode hosted by Jon Hamm, the show aired a hilarious sketch that pokes fun at every overused trick in the pharmaceutical ad playbook. From the moment it opens—with Hamm’s calm narration over scenes of smiling people rock climbing, kayaking, and gazing thoughtfully into the distance—you know exactly what kind of ad they’re mocking. Only this time, it’s for a fictional herpes treatment.

“Medical science doesn’t understand why the herpes virus causes people to seek active fun in slow motion,” Hamm deadpans, “but we know that it does.” And just like that, the entire pharmaceutical marketing world was roasted in under five seconds.

What follows is a masterclass in satire. Cast members talk about discovering their possible herpes diagnosis not because of symptoms, but because they found themselves doing “herpes commercial things”—like hiking with a group of vaguely supportive friends.

One man with erectile dysfunction is diagnosed simply by having a partner who wears a sports jersey and walks toward him in slow motion. In another scene, a child hands a parent a sad drawing, which apparently means that parent must be struggling with depression. The absurdity is so on-the-nose, it hurts.

By the end, Jon Hamm is back, perched on a cliff holding a fake bottle of “Herpastopper.” And when he admits, “We tried to come up with a better name, but nobody could think of one,” you can almost hear pharmaceutical branding teams across the country shifting nervously in their seats.

But let’s not just laugh and move on. This sketch, as silly as it is, actually has something important to say to all of us in the healthcare marketing space. It’s a reminder—delivered with a wink—that when creativity takes a backseat to formulas and familiarity, audiences notice.

Saturday Night Live was able to parody this genre so easily because so many pharmaceutical advertisements look and feel the same.

The settings, the music, the tone, even the color grading—it all blurs together. And when you’re trying to build trust with patients or capture the attention of a busy healthcare professional, blending in is the last thing you want to do.

The good news is that it does not have to be this way. Pharmaceutical marketing is filled with constraints, yes, but it is also filled with opportunities. Real people are at the heart of every brand. Real stories, real experiences, real struggles and triumphs. There is nothing boring about that. There is certainly nothing cookie-cutter about it.

What if the next campaign was driven by a powerful human insight instead of a predictable visual cue? What if the next physician-focused message avoided the sterile talking points and instead sounded like something a real doctor would actually say? What if we took just a little more creative risk and, in doing so, made something that actually sticks?

The sketch does not suggest that we turn all pharmaceutical campaigns into comedy routines. But it does remind us that people are paying attention. They are watching—and laughing—when we all follow the same script.

Maybe it is time to surprise them. Maybe it is time to take a breath, look at that montage of happy hikers, and ask: “Is this actually helping our message, or just helping us blend into the noise?”

So thank you, Jon Hamm. Thank you, Saturday Night Live. You gave us a reason to laugh, but also a reason to think. And if the next wave of healthcare campaigns ends up just a little more original, just a little more human, and a lot less full of kayaking montages—well, we’ll know who to thank.

G-Med excels in HCP marketing by blending digital innovation with data-driven insights, creating an effective platform for reaching healthcare professionals, offering various advertising solutions. By using G-Med to engage HCPs, share data reports, and explore innovative channels, marketers can deliver targeted, impactful messages that foster strong connections. G-Med’s approach ensures that each campaign is tailored, scientifically rigorous, and effective, aligning perfectly with the best practices for successful HCP marketing.   

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