How Pfizer made the highest scoring Pharma ad of all time - Susan Rienow

The Super Bowl is the biggest advertising event of the year, with the biggest brands in the world flexing their advertising muscles (and budgets). A new entrant to the Super Bowl in 2024 was Pfizer, and they're back again this year with an ad that has blown the socks off the Pharma category. Their big game ad "Knock Out", scored 4.4 stars in System1 testing, also making it one of the best ads overall. I speak with Pfizer CMO, Susan Rienow about what it takes to create such a successful ad in the most competitive environment.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:20 - Susan’s successful career so far
03:19 - What Pfizer does and their mission
04:21 - The Covid vaccine rollout
06:29 - The role of insights for making business decisions
07:36 - Dealing with the complexities of different audiences
10:12 - Managing the impact of fair balance in advertising
14:51 - The role of Pfizer’s advertising
17:04 - Why have Pfizer gone all in with a Super Bowl ad
20:12 - The Pfizer Super Bowl ad in 2025
25:20 - What role does testing play for creating an effective ad
33:31 - The role of testing giving confidence to the board
37:39 - How tiny changes can make such a big difference
39:15 - How to evaluate the impact of a Super Bowl ad
41:22 - What makes a great CMO
46:40 - Advice Susan would give to young marketers