ReShape Launches National Advertising Campaign for Flagship Product, Lap-Band®


The Company’s first and largest mainstream mass-market advertising campaign

Featured on major television channels and consumer print publications

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Oct. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  ReShape Lifesciences Inc. (NASDAQ: RSLS), the premier physician-led weight loss and metabolic health-solutions company, announced the launch of a multi-platform consumer advertising campaign utilizing national television, print, social media, and public relations to market their Next-Generation Lap-Band® Program with available aftercare supported through reshapecare™, their reimbursable virtual health coaching platform to create consumer awareness and increase patient demand.

Research shows that more than 2.1 billion people, nearly 30 percent of the global population, are overweight or obese, with projections proposing that almost half of the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 20301. Additionally, The American Psychological Association recently announced results from a February 2021 survey by The Harris Poll finding that a majority of adults (61%) reported undesired weight changes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 2 in 5 (42%) saying they gained more weight than they intended2. Of this group, adults reported gaining an average of 29 pounds. ReShape Lifesciences™ has designed this national campaign to build Lap-Band brand awareness and a call to action for people seeking a personalized and effective weight-loss program that places control in the hands of the patient without a drastic change in their daily lifestyle.

To view the direct-to-consumer marketing campaign elements, please access via this link: https://sincbox.gosimian.com/sp/a/FnTB0eGItGYPpjpw1b3VNQ/.

Proven by clinicians globally, the Lap-Band is the safest minimally invasive bariatric surgery procedure that is approved by the FDA, covered by most insurance plans, performed as an outpatient procedure and available on the market today. With over two decades of data, the adjustable and reversible Lap-Band has demonstrated lower complication and mortality rates compared to other surgical weight-loss procedures.

“In an effort to address this rising health concern on weight gain and to help more people achieve a better quality of life, we have invested significant time and resources to study current test marketing programs in correlation with the historical impact of patient direct marketing on Lap-Band patient demand. Based on those metrics, we are confident that targeted national advertising on this major scale will highlight the exclusive benefits of the Lap-Band, driving higher procedural volumes and corresponding revenues,” commented Bart Bandy, President and CEO at ReShape Lifesciences.

National television spots will appear in outlets such as HGTV, TLCFOX, Bravo, and more, with print advertisements running in People Magazine, Good Housekeeping, US Weekly, TV Guide, and other select publications nationwide. These coordinated media are intended to reach people struggling with maintaining a healthy weight and to educate them on the advantages and accessibility of the Lap-Band procedure compared to other treatment options. Another goal of the campaign is to help people understand that the Lap-Band offers unique benefits for a variety of patients, including those with lower BMI and women who may become pregnant.  

“This is an exciting time for the company as we are able to nationally leverage the specific advantages of a medical-device and brand unlike any other weight loss program or bariatric surgeries. As we build upon this impactful, comprehensive, brand-response advertising campaign, it can also serve as a co-marketing resource for practices to promote the Lap-Band and directly advance their consultation and procedure growth,” said Diane Utzman-O'Neill, Vice President Consumer Marketing at ReShape Lifesciences.

ABOUT RESHAPE LIFESCIENCES INC.

ReShape Lifesciences™ is America's premier weight loss and metabolic health-solutions company, offering an integrated portfolio of proven products and services that manage and treat obesity and metabolic disease. The FDA-approved Lap-Band® Program provides minimally invasive, long-term treatment of obesity and is an alternative to more invasive surgical stapling procedures such as the gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy. The ReShape Vest™ System is an investigational (outside the U.S.) minimally invasive, laparoscopically implanted medical device that wraps around the stomach, emulating the gastric volume reduction effect of conventional weight-loss surgery. It helps enable rapid weight loss in obese and morbidly obese patients without permanently changing patient anatomy. reshapecare™ is a virtual weight-management program that supports lifestyle changes for all weight-loss patients led by board certified health coaches to help them keep the weight off over time. The recently launched ReShape Marketplace™ is an online collection of quality wellness products curated for all consumers to help them achieve their health goals.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "could," "may," "intend," "will," "continue," "future," other words of similar meaning and the use of future dates. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements about our confidence that targeted national advertising on this major scale will highlight the exclusive benefits of the Lap-Band, driving higher procedural volumes and corresponding revenues. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of our management and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those factors identified as "risk factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K filed March 11, 2021. We are providing this information as of the date of this press release and do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

CONTACTS:

ReShape Lifesciences Investor Contact: 
Thomas Stankovich
Chief Financial Officer
949-276-6042
ir@ReShapeLifesci.com  

Investor Contact:
Daniel Kontoh-Boateng
Assistant Vice President
The Ruth Group
646-536-7019
dboateng@theruthgroup.com

  1. McKinsey Global Institute, Overcoming obesity: An initial economic analysis. November 2014.
    https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/economic%20studies%20temp/our%20insights/how%20the%20world%20could%20better%20fight%20obesity/mgi_overcoming_obesity_full_report.ashx

  2. American Psychological Association, One year on: Unhealthy weight gains, increased drinking reported by Americans coping with pandemic stress. March 2021.
    https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2021/03/one-year-pandemic-stress