HeadOn

HeadOn is the brand name of a topical product formerly claimed to relieve headaches, produced by Miralus Healthcare. It is sold as a homeopathic remedy.cite news | title = Head Case: the mesmerizing ad for HeadOn | url = http://www.slate.com/id/2146382/?nav=ais | first = Seth | last = Stevenson | work = Ad Report Card | publisher = Slate | date = 2006-07-24 | accessdate = 2006-07-24 ]

There are no peer reviewed studies showing that HeadOn works and the scientific consensus is that homeopathic remedies do not help beyond the placebo effect. [cite news |author=Suz Redfearn |coauthors= |title=Claim Check:Head Rub |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092500934.html |publisher=Washington Post |date= 2006-09-26 |accessdate=2008-05-04]

HeadOn is manufactured in Chicago, Illinois, United States, while Miralus Healthcare has offices in Canada and Florida.cite news | title = Ad Nauseam | first = Dan | last = Neil | date = 2006-07-23 | publisher = Los Angeles Times | accessdate = 2006-07-24 | url = http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-neil30jul23,1,6376894.story?coll=la-headlines-magazine ]

Commercial

HeadOn's notoriety came in part due to its advertisements on cable and daytime programming on broadcast television which consisted of using only the tagline "HeadOn. Apply directly to the forehead", stated three times in succession, accompanied by a video of a model using the product. On September 18, 2006 a new advertisement debuted on US channels; the opening is the same as the original HeadOn, with the words "HeadOn, apply directly" occurring before the sound fizzles out while a person walks on and mocks the tagline, stating "HeadOn, I can't stand your commercial, but your product is amazing!", "HeadOn, I hate your commercial! But I love your product.", or "HeadOn, your commercial is so annoying, but you've got a great product!" As of June 2007, the advertisement has changed again -- this time to a chorus of people saying "Head on, apply directly to the forehead?", a single announcer repeating "apply directly to the forehead", and then the chorus doing the same thing. This newer ad also features a slow-motion version of the model using the product. The ad was once again changed in 2008 to include testimonials of HeadOn users. Later in 2008, the commercial was changed back to its original thrice-repeating form, but this time a warning was added at the beginning of the commercial that says "WARNING: The following commercial contains scenes of a repetitive nature. Viewer discretion is advised."

The company decided not to include any factual claims about the product in the spots after the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureaus objected to the claim that HeadOn provided "fast, safe, effective" headache relief made in an earlier spot.cite news | url = http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060731-111312-7732r | title = Headache remedy becomes pop culture phenom | publisher = United Press International | date = 2006-07-31 | accessdate = 2006-08-01 ] A previous campaign included the phrase "Should I know about HeadOn?"

The company used focus groups to try a number of potential commercials, with one focused solely on repetition; the focus groups recalled the ads much more than with any other method. Many people consider the ads annoying. [cite news | url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5546086 | title = Taking an Annoying Pain Commercial Head On | first = Brian | last = Unger | publisher = National Public Radio | date= 2006-07-10 | accessdate = 2006-07-24 ] [cite web | url = http://www.thedailyheadache.com/2006/07/headon_commerci.html | title = HeadOn Commercial | work = The Daily Headache | date= 2006-07-20 | accessdate = 2006-07-24 ] [cite news | url = http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14456557/ | title = Best and Worst Commercials of the Year | first = Gael | middle = Fashingbauer | last = Cooper| publisher = msnbc | date= 2006-08-24 | accessdate = 2006-09-21 ] Dan Charron, vice president of sales and marketing, told the "Los Angeles Times" that nobody in the focus groups had told him that the ads were annoying.

Parodies

* The commercial has led to a number of parodies now appearing on Web sites such as YouTube, "USA Today" reports, [ [http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2006-07-30-head-on-usat_x.htm USATODAY.com - Headache commercial hits parody circuit, well, HeadOn ] ] and it has since become an internet meme. The technophile magazine "Make" describes how to turn it into a ring tone.

* A "Doonesbury" comic strip published on December 23, 2007 features two characters discussing the commercial. [ [http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20071223 Doonesbury@Slate - Daily Dose ] ]

* The direct-to-DVD "Futurama" movie, "Bender's Big Score", advertises their product "Torgo's Executive Powder" in a similar manner as HeadOn, but with the line "Apply directly to the buttocks." When shown on television, one of the opening quotes is "Apply directly to the foreclaw".

* The parody film "Disaster Movie" includes a spoof of HeadOn commercials.

*A preview for a movie for Billy and Mandy repeats its tile multiple times with a similar background.

Other products

Five other products are also currently produced by the manufacturers of HeadOn:

* ActivOn - described on the company's website as being a topical analgesic for arthritis-like joint pains.
* FirstOn
* PreferOn
* FREEdHEM
* RenewIn

The commercials for these products generally follow HeadOn advertisements (save for FreedHem). Unlike the other products, RenewIn is not a topical medicine.

Ingredients

Chemical analysis has shown that the product consists almost entirely of wax . The two ingredients listed as "active", white bryony (a type of vine) and potassium dichromate (a known carcinogen), are diluted to 1 ppt and 1 ppm respectively.cite web | url = http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-07/072806academic.html#i15 | title = Analysis of Head On | work = James Randi's Swift | accessdate = 2006-07-27 ] This amount of dilution is so great that the product has been described as a placebo; with skeptic James Randi calling it a "major medical swindle". Each 0.2-ounce stick contains a “12X” concentration of white bryony.

Seymour Diamond, director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago and the inpatient headache unit at St. Joseph Hospital, has been quoted as saying "I see nothing in this product that has any validity whatsoever."cite news | title = Head Rub | date = 2006-09-26 | publisher = The Washington Post | accessdate = 2006-09-29 | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092500934.html?nav=hcmodule] "Consumer Reports" states that no clinical-trial data involving HeadOn have been presented, and that "any apparent efficacy may be the result of the placebo effect."cite web |url=http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/health-fitness/drugs-supplements/headon-9-07/overview/0709_headache_ov_1.htm |title=ConsumerReports.org - HeadOn: Headache drug lacks clinical data |accessdate=2008-01-23 |format= |work=]

Correspondence has been published with a statement from "HeadOn Customer Service" that "It works through the nerves." [cite web | url = http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-09/092206bad.html#i5 | title = Science at its best | work = James Randi's Swift | accessdate = 2006-10-02 ]

Miralus Healthcare claims that HeadOn is safe, so that "it can be used by anyone and as often as needed. There are no dosage restrictions or health risks associated with its use."cite web|url=http://www.headon.com/safety.htm|title=Safety|publisher=headon.com|accessdate=2007-05-05] There are three variants of HeadOn — Extra Strength Headache Pain Reliever, [cite web |url=http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod1806169|title=HeadOn Extra Strength Headache Pain Reliever|accessdate=2006-11-02|publisher=Walgreens.com] Extra Strength Sinus Headache Relief, [cite web |url=http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod2180504|title=HeadOn Sinus Headache Relief, Extra Strength|accessdate=2006-11-02|publisher=Walgreens.com] and Migraine Pain Reliever. [cite web |url=http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod1631458|title=HeadOn Migraine Pain Reliever|accessdate=2006-11-02|publisher=Walgreens.com] Their active ingredients (converted from the listed homeopathic dilution notation to standard percentages) are:

Extra Strength Headache Pain Reliever

*Potassium dichromate nowrap|8 × 10⁻⁸%
*White Bryony nowrap|4 × 10⁻¹⁴%

Extra Strength Sinus Headache Relief

*Potassium dichromate nowrap|5 × 10⁻⁸%
*White Bryony nowrap|4 × 10⁻¹⁴%
*Golden Seal Hydrastis nowrap|8 × 10⁻³²%

Migraine Pain Reliever

*Potassium dichromate nowrap|3 × 10⁻⁸%
*White Bryony nowrap|4 × 10⁻¹⁴%
*Blue Flag Iris Versicolor nowrap|1 × 10⁻¹³%

References

External links

* [http://www.miralus.com Miralus website]
* [http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2005/10/10-18-05tdc/10-18-05dscihealth-04.asp The Digital Collegian: Healing head pains]
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2146382 Slate Magazine's review of the ad]
* [http://www.voicemagazine.org/articles/articledisplay.php?ART=5464 Voice Magazine's criticism of the ad and product]