Premiered at this year’s Super Bowl, Eli Lilly’s latest commercial for weight loss drug Zepbound (tirzepatide), “Watch This: Head-to-Head,” focuses on real-world confidence and activity. It also boasts about Zepbound’s superiority over Novo Nordisk rival Wegovy (semaglutide).
The ad debuted during the Super Bowl last month and aims to position Zepbound as an effective option for adults seeking to not just lose weight, but to maintain those results.
In the ad, users are shown out and about living their lives, happy and enjoying life, implying that Zepbound’s weight loss benefits can tangibly improve everyday wellbeing.
With peppy background music, a voiceover in the background repeats “Watch this!” throughout, highlighting everyday people engaged in everyday, fun and interesting activities.
From a man jumping on a trampoline to a woman riding a motorcycle and a mother-daughter duo in a cardboard toy car, alongside scenes of everyday moments like commuting, grabbing coffee and boarding a plane, the ad shows people living confidently and enjoying their lives.
The ad highlights a key critique of many new-age weight loss medications: people often “feel stuck losing the pounds, only to gain them back again.”
The ad emphasizes that Zepbound is intended for long-term health management rather than short-term cosmetic change, which is included in a disclaimer in the commercial.
But with Zepbound, the narrator claims that it helps adults with obesity lose weight and keep it off.
The commercial highlights data from Zepbound’s clinical studies, which have demonstrated an average weight loss of 48 lbs, or 21% of total body weight.
It also took aim at rival Wegovy, referencing data from the head-to-head SURMOUNT-5 trial, which showed that Zepbound led to an average weight loss of 50 lbs (20.2% of body weight) versus an average of 33 lbs (13.7% of total body weight) with Wegovy injection.
Related: Top 10 Pharma TV Ad Spend Leaders in January 2026: Tremfya, Rinvoq, Skyrizi and Zepbound Dominate
Zepbound, an injectable once‑weekly therapy containing tirzepatide, is approved in the US to help adults with obesity, or adults with overweight and at least one weight-related medical condition, lose excess body weight and keep it off when used alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
In addition, the drug also carries an indication for improving moderate‑to‑severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity.
Weight loss drugs were prominently featured in the Super Bowl’s commercial lineup this year. This included ads for compounded GLP-1s sold by DTC platforms such as Ro and Hims & Hers, and Novo’s new oral Wegovy pill.
And Lilly has been investing heavily in TV marketing for its blockbuster weight loss med. In January alone, the company spent $34 million on five Zepbound TV ads.
In 2025, Zepbound earnings reached $13.5 billion, and diabetes counterpart Mounjaro brought in $22.97 billion for Lilly.
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