The U.S. psoriasis treatment landscape is intensely competitive and continues to expand, with new entrants and established brands investing heavily in broad-reach campaigns, particularly on TV. Within the IL-23 inhibitor class, ILUMYA® has maintained a consistent share, yet overall brand awareness remains a barrier to growth. As an HCP-administered, in-office injection covered under Medicare Part B, ILUMYA® is often overlooked or misunderstood by patients. Traditional DTC tactics often blur together, making it challenging for older adults who are suited for ILUMYA® to differentiate between brands and connect on a personal level.
In 2024, ILUMYA® unveiled I Luv Ya for The Long Haul, a campaign made up of real patients and their family members, life coaches, and HCPs, aimed at encouraging patients to not lose hope. This included a custom-made “Luv Seat” inspired by the brand logo to create a safe space for patients to have honest conversations about their psoriasis journey. With an integration on The Jennifer Hudson Show, the brand set its sights even higher for year two.
Deepening the emotional connection and connecting with a familiar voice, the brand partnered with Grammy-Award-winning musician Art Garfunkel, who has lived with unmanaged psoriasis for decades. He now takes ILUMYA® and is sharing his story publicly for the first time via a compelling, multi-phased integrated approach anchored in emotional connection, nostalgia and lived experience.
With the combination of authentic patient storytelling and Art’s legendary status, the brand built a campaign that’s not only memorable but meaningful to the brand’s core audience.
While ultimately Art Garfunkel’s positive experience with ILUMYA® made the campaign possible, the team leaned on research to ensure he was the right fit as a patient spokesperson and that the campaign came to life in an authentic way. Simon & Garfunkel’s genre – legacy/classic rock – remains strongly appreciated by older adults, and popular hits like “Bridge Over Troubled Water” can carry lifetime loyalty and relevance among Gen X and Baby Boomer generations.
In a market dominated by competitors investing heavily in high-frequency TV advertising, ILUMYA® needed a bold, distinctive approach to stand out. Rather than compete dollar-for-dollar with traditional broadcast buys, the brand took a more integrated approach built with Art’s iconic status in mind.
The partnership with Art Garfunkel enabled the brand to access key storytelling opportunities that were previously out of reach, including an exclusive interview in People magazine and a TV segment on CBS Mornings, elevating ILUMYA®’s presence within a crowded landscape.
The campaign launched with a refreshed ILUMYA.com that highlights Art Garfunkel alongside existing patient stories, encouraging deeper patient exploration and connection. To build early buzz and broaden reach, the team secured earned media placements with an exclusive interview in People Magazine in addition to coverage in US Weekly and Parade. These stories were supported by paid media targeted to custom-built audiences on Meta and StackAdapt, drawing clicks back to earned coverage and ILUMYA.com.
The next wave of activity was timed to coincide with Psoriasis Action Month in August, maximizing resonance and visibility. Knowing high viewership of morning shows among older adults, this phase was anchored by a high-visibility segment on CBS Mornings with Art and his wife Kim offering a fresh and emotionally resonant alternative to the typical psoriasis TV content.
To continue the momentum, we leveraged key partnerships with the National Psoriasis Foundation and Health Reports to bring Art’s story to life in print in patient’s homes and dermatologist’s offices.
The campaign's integrated approach—combining a strategic press release with an embargoed exclusive in People magazine—drove immediate, measurable impact. On day one alone, earned and paid efforts reached an estimated 2.9 million.
Organic engagement accelerated rapidly: within two weeks post-launch, ILUMYA.com experienced a 63% surge in organic search traffic, surpassing 82,000 sessions. The hero campaign video demonstrated exceptional resonance, achieving a 29.4% completion rate—more than double the 13% rate of prior patient storytelling campaigns. This signaled authentic connection with audiences.
Paid campaigns across both phases of the campaign drove substantial traffic, generating 120,000 visits representing 13% of total site traffic. Meta and StackAdapt placements alone garnered 1.3 million views of hero content with Art on the LUV Seat.
The campaign's media momentum peaked in August when 1.6 million viewers tuned into the CBS Mornings segment, followed by an additional 2.6 million impressions and more than 98,000 engagements across YouTube and Facebook—underscoring the story's emotional connection beyond traditional broadcast. Of note, August marked the highest daily site visits to ILUMYA.com.
To extend reach into clinical settings, sponsored editions of Health Reports and the National Psoriasis Foundation's Advance magazine arrived in 1,000 dermatology offices and 130,000 patient/HCP subscribers nationwide, ensuring both physicians and patients encountered the campaign at critical decision-making moments.
