Black Sheep of Advertising: Head On

"Apply Directly to the Forehead!"HeadOn is logging some heady growth rates -- 234% from 2005 to 2006. And for the first half of 2007, the brand looks to be on track to double sales. HeadOn ranks No. 9 in the external-analgesics-rubs category and logged $6.5 million in sales last year, up from just $1.9 million in 2005, according to Information Resources Inc. That's not including Wal-Mart, who is "one of our biggest customers" said Dan Charron, VP-sales and marketing at Miralus Healthcare, the marketer of the headache remedy.







Miralus' ActivOn, for joint pain, launched in 2006, has leapfrogged past HeadOn, topping out at $5.5 million in sales and jumping to the No. 6 spot in the $278 million external-analgesic-rubs category. Within that category, Head-On is stealing share from such brands as Icy Hot, which was up just 4.4% in 2006; Bengay, which was down 2.5% last year; and Aspercreme, down 12.6% in 2006.