RALEIGH – Raleigh-based Merz North America, a pharmaceutical company specializing in aesthetics, skin care and neurotoxins, wants women to be guilt free about using the company’s anti-wrinkle injection, Xeomin, to smooth frown lines.

The company has launched a new advertising campaign, called “Later Haters,” urging women to “X out judgment, stop apologizing for caring about how they look and put an end to feeling guilty about their self-care routines.”

Merz headquarters

The company said its direct-to-consumer ads would target “reclaimers,” women who have “spent the last several years building a career or raising a family, taking care of everyone and everything else, and are finally saying, ‘it’s time to get back to me.’”

With the market for cosmetic neurotoxins such as Xeomin expected to double by 2025, the advertising campaign focuses on women who are considering using aesthetic neurotoxins for the first time, Merz said in a news release. The highest interest in cosmetic treatments is among younger women who have yet to enter middle age.

In fact, U.S. adults under 45 are nearly twice as likely as those 45 and older to be considering a surgical or nonsurgical treatment in the next 12 months, according to a 2018 survey by The Harris Poll on behalf of RealSelf, an information source for people considering an elective cosmetic treatment.

‘New tone’ in campaign

“Traditionally, external judgment has held women back from seeking injections or, if they do, from talking about it, for fear of being labeled as someone who is fake and self-absorbed,” said Christina Meyer, senior director of injectables marketing for aesthetics at Merz North America.

“Xeomin’s Later Haters campaign takes on a new tone, embracing today’s woman and her right to live her life on her terms, without judgment,” Meyer said. “We want women to know that whether it’s for a meeting in the board room or school drop-off, they should ‘X out’ the doubts and project the confidence they know they have, and Xeomin can be a part of that.”

The national ad campaign is based on marketing research in which Merz talked with groups of girlfriends and found that women want to make choices about looking and feeling their best without guilt or judgment.

“More and more women are reclaiming their individuality and coming to see me, ready to invest in their best self, even if that means using an anti-wrinkle treatment such as Xeomin for the first time,” said Lara Devgan, M.D., MPH, FACS, a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital, Greenwich Hospital and Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Infirmary in New York City, and chief executive officer of Dr. Devgan Scientific Beauty and chief medical officer of RealSelf. “These are everyday women who want to look like themselves—just a little fresher—and Later Haters tells them it’s OK to take action as part of their self-care routine.”

How it works

Xeomin is a neurotoxin protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species. When injected between the eyebrows, it temporarily smooths frown lines by blocking nerve signals to muscles, preventing the muscles from contracting and causing wrinkles on the skin.

Xeomin competes with Botox, a similar product that was first to market in the cosmetic skin care industry and became a blockbuster drug for its maker, Allergan, with annual global sales topping $3 billion. However, unlike Botox and another similar drug, Dysport, Xeomin does not need to be refrigerated before use, nor does it contain additives.

“Xeomin is the fastest growing brand in the U.S. aesthetic toxins market and is the only clinically proven anti-wrinkle injection uniquely purified to remove unnecessary proteins,” said Bob Rhatigan, chief executive officer of Merz Americas. “The new (advertising) campaign for Xeomin is designed to sustain and increase that momentum by connecting with our customers in a way that is timely, relevant and authentic.”

Last year Merz enlisted supermodel, actress and entrepreneur Christie Brinkley to help promote Xeomin, as well as another Merz aesthetics product, Ultherapy, an ultrasound-based treatment for tightening and lifting skin on the eyebrow, neck and chin.

Christie Brinkley in a Merz promotion

The new ad campaign for Xeomin began on Dec. 6 and features 30-second and 60-second spots on social media, including a new Instagram account, @XeominAesthetic. The company declined to disclose the cost of the campaign.

Merz is part of the Merz Pharma Group, a privately owned health care company based in Frankfurt, Germany, with about 3,000 employees worldwide. The company had global sales of just over 1 billion euros in 2017-18, with North America sales accounting for almost a third of the total.

Merz’s North America headquarters in North Raleigh employs about 300 people and is located in a 60,000 square-foot facility on Six Forks Road. It had been based in Greensboro from 1995 to January 2015, when it consolidated operations in Raleigh.

The company also has manufacturing and distribution facilities in Mesa, Ariz., and Franksville, Wis.