Eli Lilly is biting the hands that fed the weight-loss hype machine, calling out people who use the jabs to fit in a smaller dress or tuxedo in one ad and emphasizing that “obesity is a matter of health” in a second TV spot.

One of the new Lilly ads, "Big Night," goes further. While the open letter was a general broadside against cosmetic use of tirzepatide, the 30-second TV spot is a focused attack on Hollywood. Lilly timed the ad to coincide with awards season, specifically the Oscars, and left no doubt about its targets. 

“Some people have been using medicine never meant for them, for the smaller dress or tux, for a big night, for vanity. But that's not the point. People whose health is affected by obesity are the reason we work on these medications. It matters who gets them,” the ad states.

Lilly’s intervention comes one year after Novo Nordisk’s rival GLP-1 drug was name-checked in the Oscars ceremony, when comedian and TV host Jimmy Kimmel delivered the line “when I look around this room, I can’t help but wonder, ‘Is Ozempic right for me?’”

Dir: Malik Hassan Sayeed

Prod Co: Little Minx

Storyboards: Anoxi, Inc.