Originally Published MX July/August 2003

ADVERTISING, DISTRIBUTION, & SALES

In ads for Disc Nucleoplasty, the x-ray of the spine—painted bright blue for maximum effect—literally leaps off the page. The contrast between the color of the spine and the shadow of the golfer serves to dramatize the power of lower back pain, which often prohibits sufferers from enjoying activities like golfing. The tag line 'Minimally invasive, Maximum performance' tells the physician that this procedure is safer and easier than major surgery, yet has a high rate of proven success.

'Minimally invasive. Maximum performance.' That's the tag line for a professional ad campaign from Adair-Greene Healthcare Communications (Atlanta) that matches the cutting-edge clarity of an x-ray with the spine-twisting swing of a golfer.

The campaign was created for Arthrocare, a nine-year-old California-based company whose patented Coblation system is revolutionizing surgery by replacing the scalpel with state-of-the-art radio-wave technology. In back surgery, where the procedure is used to correct herniated disks, it is called disk decompression. The Arthrocare device, marketed as Disc Nucleoplasty, consists of a needle that emits radio waves, decompressing, or dissolving, the excess tissue that indirectly causes the pain.

In designing