Lady Gaga is an award-winning singer, songwriter and actor, and her latest ad for Pfizer’s migraine drug Nurtec ODT—dubbed “Lady Gaga’s Journey, The Next Chapter”—showcases yet another skill in the multihyphenate’s repertoire.
While her first spot for the Big Pharma showed Gaga in her natural element, performing onstage for a crowd of cheering fans, this time around, the superstar summons her inner paparazzo to go behind the camera.
“Nothing dims my light like a migraine,” Gaga says at the start of the 30-second ad, as she’s surrounded by a glam team backstage at a photoshoot. With her platinum hair tousled to perfection and dramatic eye makeup complete—and a voiceover touting Nurtec ODT as “the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent all in one”—she walks to the set and picks up a camera, revealing that the shoot isn’t for her, but rather for a group of her fellow “actual Nurtec ODT patients,” per a pop-up label on the commercial.
“To those with migraine, I see you,” Gaga says, before turning the camera on each of the others, as her 2011 hit “Edge of Glory” plays in the background. “It’s time we all shine,” she adds.
According to an Instagram post sharing the ad on Monday, Gaga made the “film” alongside high-profile fashion photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, better known as Inez & Vinoodh, who also shared the commercial on their own joint Instagram feed.
Before posting the ad, Gaga shared a selfie video—also tagged with the requisite “#pfizersponsored” and “#ad”—in which she implored others with migraine to talk to their doctors about the medication.
“I have had migraine for a long time, and I really wish that I had found Nurtec ODT sooner,” she said. “If you’re suffering with migraine, I know that we might have lots of different careers and different backgrounds, but we share this thing in common, and it feels good to tell you that it could be helpful to you.”
She signed off by blowing a kiss and adding, “I hope you feel better soon.”
Lady Gaga’s “story” page on the Nurtec website describes how she’s been experiencing debilitating migraines since she was 14 and how, since starting the medication and finding relief from the pain and stress, she’s been motivated to share her story in hopes of helping others “find the relief they need,” too.
Her audience, however, greeted the ad with mixed reactions. Top comments on her two Instagram posts include “Less lady pharma more lady gaga” and “Girl you need new management,” each of which have so far racked up around 3,000 likes each, far outweighing the more supportive comments on the posts.
Another follower, meanwhile, had a suggestion for a more holistic treatment for migraine that earned more than 2,600 likes in its own right: “There’s nothing better than a new album to improve our migraines.” Your move, Gaga.
Nurtec was originally developed by Biohaven before being bought out by Pfizer in 2022 for $11.6 billion.