Viatris used unbranded couple portraits to advertise Viagra in China

China prohibits direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs, and Viagra's actual subject — erectile dysfunction and sexual intimacy — is culturally taboo, rarely discussed openly even in private, let alone in mass media. That leaves a category with real, widespread need but no legal or culturally acceptable channel through which the brand can speak about what it actually treats or why it matters to people's relationships.

For Valentine's Day 2025, Viatris and Ogilvy Shanghai released 'Make Love Last,' an unbranded art and photography project built from time-lapse and long-exposure footage of three real couples, focused on the passage of time and emotional connection in long relationships rather than anything explicit or clinical. Only in the closing frame does the outline of the brand's iconic blue diamond-shaped pill appear, alongside a closing line, functioning as both a subtle product cue and a broader statement.

Built an unbranded art piece on real couples' intimacy, letting the pill's diamond silhouette in the final frame do the brand identification no direct claim could.

The unbranded art avoided both the ad ban and the taboo by never mentioning the drug or its purpose.

Focusing on intimacy and time in relationships made the emotional connection to Viagra's real benefit feel earned.

Deferring the brand cue to the final frame let viewers who recognized it make the connection themselves, keeping the piece compliant.

The recognizable diamond silhouette was a strong enough cue to link the art to the product without explicit claims.

When direct claims are banned, communicate the emotional territory your product serves, and let a subtle brand cue do the identification.

The work won the first-ever Pharma Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2025 plus the Grand Prix for Film Craft: Cinematography, with jurors specifically praising how it conveyed intimacy and product benefit with subtlety while working around the ban on any duration or efficacy claims. No independent reach, sales-lift, or brand-awareness figures were disclosed in the sources found — the confirmed outcome is critical and industry recognition, not a disclosed commercial result.