Hims & Hers faces backlash over ‘misleading’ Super Bowl ad—but it didn’t stop stock from jumping over 11%

Telehealth company Hims & Hers Health is fighting back after the drug industry’s main lobbying group called out its first Super Bowl ad as “misleading” and in potential violation of marketing rules.

The ad is a one-minute spot set to Childish Gambino’s “This is America,” which admonishes the U.S.’s “broken” weight-loss business and instead offers up its “affordable, doctor-trusted” copycat weight-loss drugs.

The lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said Thursday the ad was “a clear violation” of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and “misrepresents the safety and efficacy of their knockoff GLP-1 medicines.”

Hims & Hers, which includes a brief disclaimer in the ad that the compounded drugs aren’t FDA approved, said the pushback from the industry meant its ad had clearly struck a chord. “We’ve called out the system and now the system is asking that our ad get taken down,” a spokesperson says. “This is a blatant attempt to shut down an ad that calls them out.”

The telehealth firm operates on the idea that consumers who can’t afford, or balk at, the hundreds or thousands of dollars required to get weight-loss medications such as Wegovy, will pay Hims & Hers for less expensive, compounded versions of those medications. The compounded versions also serve as a way to increase access to weight-loss drugs in a time of steep shortages.

To be sure, compounded drugs aren’t the same as generic drugs. They’re not approved by the FDA, so compounded drugs don’t require the same rigorous testing that is required for brand-name drugmakers. They’re often criticized due to their risk for potential contamination. But companies that sell compounded medicines say they offer high-quality drugs.

Hims & Hers said that its “commercial aims to highlight why the U.S. is in an obesity crisis, while showcasing that Hims & Hers is committed to being part of easing the strain the weight-loss drug shortage is placing on the millions of Americans who have obesity and are looking for help.”

Hims & Hers stock jumped more than 11% on Friday following the pushback. As of Friday afternoon, shares were up nearly 8%. The company declined to comment on the bump, as it’s in a quiet period ahead of releasing its earnings report.