HeadOn

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Head On TV Commercial screenshot.

HeadOn is a topical product intended for headache relief, produced by Miralus Healthcare, which claims it is a homeopathic remedy.^[1] Although intended uses are not listed on the website or in the commercial spot, the purported purpose of the product is to assuage headaches.^[1]

Chemical analysis has shown that the product consists almost entirely of wax. The two listed active ingredients, white bryony (a type of vine) and potassium dichromate, are diluted to .000001 PPM and 1 PPM respectively.^[2] This amount of dilution is so great that the product is arguably a placebo.^[3] However, the package does list menthol as an inactive ingredient; menthol is one of the active ingredients of Vicks VapoRub. Correspondence has been published with a statement from HeadOn Customer Service that "It works through the nerves."^[4] The Better Business Bureau has asked Miralus Healthcare not to make claims that HeadOn cures headaches.

Miralus Healthcare claims that HeadOn is safe, so that "[i]t can be used by anyone and as often as needed. There are no dosage restrictions or health risks associated with its use." ^{[cite this quote]}

HeadOn is manufactured in Chicago, while Miralus Healthcare has offices in Canada and Florida.^[5]

1 Commercial
- 1.1 Parodies
2 Other Products
3 Active ingredients
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Commercial

An example of the new commercial described to the right

HeadOn's notoriety came in part due to its advertisements on cable and daytime programming on broadcast television which consisted of using only the tagline "HeadOn. Apply directly to the forehead" repeated very quickly three times, accompanied by a video of a model using the product. On September 18, 2006 a new advertisement debuted on US channels; the opening is the same as the original HeadOn, with the words "HeadOn, apply directly" occurring before the sound fizzles out while a person walks on and mocks the tagline, stating "I can't stand your commercial, but your product is amazing!", "Hate your commercial, but love your product", or "HeadOn, your commercial is so annoying, but you got a great product!"

The previous advertising campaign which was used to promote HeadOn included the phrase "Should I know about HeadOn?", but was changed in late June 2006.^[6]

The company used focus groups to try a number of potential commercials; with one focused solely on repetition; its results were incredible. The focus groups recalled the ads much more than with any other method.^[1] A number of people have considered the ads annoying.^[7]^[8]^[9] Dan Charron, vice president of sales and marketing, told the Los Angeles Times that nobody in the focus groups had told him that the ads were annoying.^[5]

[edit] Parodies

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"U.S. Army, Protect your forehead" parody from The Daily Show

The commercial has led to a number of parodies now appearing on Web sites such as YouTube, USA Today reports,^[10] and it has since become an internet meme. The technophile magazine Make describes how to turn it into a ring tone.^[6] The Daily Show also parodied the commercial with a military recruitment ad on its August 3, 2006 episode, showing a soldier putting on a helmet and repeating "U.S. Army, protect your forehead".

Liberal radio talk show host Stephanie Miller also parodied the commercial in her radio show by incorporating a clip of George W. Bush saying "September the 11th" and then the commercial's "Apply directly to the forehead" and repeating that three times. In a recent episode of The Colbert Report, host Stephen Colbert argued "apply directly to the forehead" was a phrase that best captured the essence of American pop culture in the 21st Century. He also used it during the beginning of the show on the October 4, 2006 episode. On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in the segment "The Audience Wants to Know" where Jay answers questions from the audience, an audience member asked if the commercial could be more annoying. Jay showed a clip of the commercial, except replacing the woman in the clip and the voice with Gilbert Gottfried (who makes frequent appearances on the show) repeating "HeadOn, apply directly to the forehead" ending with "How much more simple do you need it, moron?". On another show, aired January 3, 2007, Jay made a mock commercial with Big Mac. The clip shows a woman with a Big Mac and the announcer saying "Big Mac, apply directly to your ass".

University comedy magazines such as Phroth from Penn State have also used this pop culture phenomenon to advertise their own product.

Conservative radio talk show host Glenn Beck uses a bumper ad on his show that contains "Glenn On, apply directly to the ear drum" three times followed by a short parody of voice from Red Stripe beer commercials: "Boo mysterious and annoying commercial! Hurray, Beck!" Also, on Beck's CNN Headline News show, a parody commercial was aired in 2006 called "HeadOff", featuring a small axe.

A recent episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force mentioned a commercial for "Roid-Away" ("apply directly to the 'roid"), which Meatwad and Master Shake consider a "good show."

The end of each episode of Ask A Ninja from Nov. 30, 2006 (Special Delivery 11) to March 2, 2007 (Clubs) has advertised an Ask A Ninja DVD with the line, "Ask A Ninja DVD, apply directly to your brain!"

In commercials for the made-for-television movie Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure, a puppet of the Dracula character moves his hand to his head while the announcer repeats "The Movie! Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure" several times all with a plain green backdrop, a direct parody of the Head On commercial. Even the font used for the commercials directly mirrors the Head On logo. It is then followed by the same commerial, with Dracula popping out in front of the screen and insists he heard it the first time and isn't deaf, but the voice is giving him a headache.

The Pittsburgh area Alternative Rock radio station, 105.9 The X,did a parody of the ad to advertise their "Double X Weekend" where they play two songs by the same artist in a row. The line "Double X Weekend, apply directly to eardrum!" was repeated three times followed by "Your commercials are annoying but your music is amazing" consisted of the majority of the commercial.

[edit] Other Products

Two other products are also currently produced by the manufacturers of HeadOn: ActivOn and FirstOn. They are an ache and pain reliever for the rest of the body and an anti-itch ointment respectively. The commercials for these products generally follow HeadOn advertisements and do not share the repetitive nature of the original HeadOn commercial.

[edit] Active ingredients

There are three variants of HeadOn—Extra Strength Headache Pain Reliever^[11], Extra Strength Sinus Headache Relief^[11], and Migraine Pain Reliever^[11]. Their "active ingredients" are:

[edit] Extra Strength Headache Pain Reliever

Potassium dichromate 6X H.P.U.S. 0.05%
White Bryony 12X H.P.U.S. 0.04%

[edit] Extra Strength Sinus Headache Relief

Potassium dichromate 6X HPUS 0.05%
White Bryony 12X HPUS 0.04%
Golden Seal Hydrastis 30X HPUS 0.08%

[edit] Migraine Pain Reliever

Potassium dichromate 6X H.P.U.S 0.03%
White Bryony 12X H.P.U.S 0.04%
Blue Flag 12X H.P.U.S Iris Versicolor—01%

[edit] Health Warning

The International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre describes the dangers of long-term or repeated exposure to Potassium Dichromate as follows:

Repeated or prolonged contact may cause skin sensitization. Repeated or prolonged inhalation exposure may cause asthma. The substance may have effects on the respiratory tract and kidneys, resulting in nasal septum perforation and kidney impairment. This substance is carcinogenic to humans. May cause heritable genetic damage to human germ cells. Animal tests show that this substance possibly causes toxicity to human reproduction or development.^[12]