Three months after its introduction, Aleve has become the third-best-selling over-the-counter painkiller in the country.
The little blue pills, claiming to give relief for eight to 12 hours, went on sale in June and by mid-September had surpassed Excedrin and Bayer, according to new market share statistics.Aleve still has a way to go before it challenges skullthumper superpowers Advil and Tylenol.
However, its distributor Procter & Gamble, says it has already grabbed roughly twice the share Advil had just after its introduction 10 years ago.
"We feel very good about the results to date," spokeswoman Chris Burbank said Wednesday.
Analysts credit P&G's $100 million "All day strong - all day long" advertising campaign, along with discount coupons to get people to try Aleve.
But they also say the real reason behind Aleve's success may be harder to quantify. Marketing consultant Al Ries of Great Neck, N.Y., calls it the "next generation" principle.
"Every so often, there's an opportunity for a new product to come along that may not be any better, but it grabs a significant market share just by being the next generation," he said.
"In a world of claims and counterclaims, the only thing the consumer knows for sure is Aleve is the new product and Advil and Tylenol are the old products, so they just assume that the new product has got to better; otherwise, why would they have introduced it."
Whatever the reasons, Aleve had roughly 6.8 percent of the $2.5 billion-a-year painkiller market in the four weeks ending Sept. 11, said figures compiled by the research firm Information Resources Inc.
Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol remained the No. 1 brand with about 28.9 percent, down 3.6 percentage points from its share during the first three months of the year.
Advil remained No. 2, with about 16.2 percent, down 0.7 point from the first three months.
Bristol-Myers Squibb's Excedrin followed Aleve with about 6.3 percent, down 0.7 point. Bayer products were next at about 5.4 percent, down 0.9 point.
P&G's Burbank said Wednesday that after Aleve's debut, the company made sure to saturate the market rapidly, delivering it to stores in 90 percent of the country within five weeks. Now it's available everywhere, she said.
Tristan Gerra, an analyst with Dean Witter, Discover & Co. in San Francisco, said another possible reason for Aleve's success is its history. Aleve is a less potent form of the popular prescription arthritis drug Naprosyn.
"Instead of going to the doctor, some people are realizing that they can get the same product over the counter," he said.
Aleve may be giving its competitors a whopper of a headache, but they are hitting back.
Johnson & Johnson met Aleve's introduction with an "extended version" of Tylenol that approaches Aleve's dosage length.
American Home Products Inc., maker of Advil, went a step further, suing P&G, saying its claims of relief for up to 12 hours are hokum. A hearing on the suit concluded last week in Newark, N.J., federal court, and a judge is now considering American's demand that Aleve's ads be yanked.
The latest Advil TV ad contains subtle hints questioning Aleve's safety. It features a daughter warning her elderly mother that if Aleve wears off early, it's too risky for her to take more, leaving her in pain "for hours."
Marketer Ries predicted Wednesday that Aleve will eventually be the No. 1 painkiller, although that may take years.