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[[Image:Headon.jpg|right|thumb|350px|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.<ref name = Slate >{{cite news | title = Head Case: the mesmerizing ad for HeadOn | url = http://www.slate.com/id/2146382/?nav=ais | first = Seth | last = Stevenson | work = Ad Report Card | publisher = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] | date = [[2006-07-24]] | accessdate = 2006-07-24 }}</ref> Although intended uses are not listed on the website or in the commercial spot, the implicit purpose of the product is to reduce discomfort caused by [[headache]]s.<ref name = Slate />
Chemical analysis has shown that the product consists almost entirely of [[wax]]. The two listed active ingredients, [[Bryony|white bryony]] (a type of vine) and [[potassium dichromate]], are diluted to .000001 [[Parts-per notation|PPM]] and 1 PPM respectively.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-07/072806academic.html#i15 | title = Analysis of Head On | work = James Randi's Swift | accessdate = 2006-07-27 }}</ref> This amount of dilution is so great that the product is arguably a [[placebo]]. Seymour Diamond, director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago and the inpatient headache unit at St. Joseph Hospital, has been quoted as saying "I see nothing in this product that has any validity whatsoever."<ref name = WashingtonPost>{{cite news | title = Head Rub | date = [[2006-09-26]] | publisher = [[The Washington Post]] | accessdate = 2006-09-29 | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092500934.html?nav=hcmodule }}</ref>
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."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-09/092206bad.html#i5 | title = Science at its best | work = James Randi's Swift | accessdate = 2006-10-02 }}</ref> 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."<ref name="safety">{{cite web|url=http://www.headon.com/safety.htm|title=Safety|publisher=headon.com|accessdate=2007-05-05}}</ref>
HeadOn is manufactured in [[Chicago, Illinois]], [[United States]], while Miralus Healthcare has offices in [[Canada]] and [[Florida]].<ref name = LATimes>{{cite news | title = Ad Nauseam | first = Dan | last = Neil | date = [[2006-07-23]] | publisher = [[Los Angeles Times]] | accessdate = 2006-07-24 | url = http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-neil30jul23,1,6376894.story?coll=la-headlines-magazine }}</ref>
==Commercial==
[[Image:headonnewcommercial.png|thumb|230px|left|An example of the new commercial described to the right]]HeadOn's notoriety came in part due to its advertisements on [[Cable television|cable]] and daytime programming on broadcast television which consisted of using only the tagline "HeadOn. Apply directly to the forehead", stated three times in rapid succession, 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!", "HeadOn, I hate your commercial! But I love your product.", or "HeadOn, your commercial is so annoying, but you've got a great product!" As of June 2007, the advertisement has changed again -- this time to a chorus of people saying "Head on, apply directly to the forehead?", a single announcer repeating "apply directly to the forehead", and then the chorus doing the same thing. This newer ad also features a slow-motion version of the model using the product.
The original advertising campaign which was used to promote HeadOn included the phrase "Should I know about HeadOn?", but was changed in late [[June]] [[2006]].<ref name = UPI>{{cite news | url = http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060731-111312-7732r | title = Headache remedy becomes pop culture phenom | publisher = [[United Press International]] | date = [[2006-07-31]] | accessdate = 2006-08-01 }}</ref>
The company used focus groups to try a number of potential commercials, with one focused solely on repetition; the focus groups recalled the ads much more than with any other method.<ref name = Slate /> A number of people have considered the ads annoying.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5546086 | title = Taking an Annoying Pain Commercial Head On | first = Brian | last = Unger | publisher = National Public Radio | date = 2006-07-10 | accessdate = 2006-07-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.thedailyheadache.com/2006/07/headon_commerci.html | title = HeadOn Commercial | work = The Daily Headache | date = 2006-07-20 | accessdate = 2006-07-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14456557/ | title = Best and Worst Commercials of the Year | first = Gael | middle = Fashingbauer | last = Cooper| publisher = msnbc | date = 2006-08-24 | accessdate = 2006-09-21 }}</ref> 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.<ref name = LATimes />
===Parodies===
{{cleanup-list}}
[[Image:protectforeheadarmy.png|thumb|230px|right|"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,<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2006-07-30-head-on-usat_x.htm</ref> and it has since become an [[internet meme]]. The technophile magazine ''[[Make (magazine)|Make]]'' describes how to turn it into a [[ring tone]].<ref name = UPI /> ''[[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."
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.
Political satirist FrankJ and wife SarahK parody the commercial for the 2008 presidential election with the slogan "FredOn, Apply directly to the Whitehouse," in support of candidate [[Fred Thompson]]. <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Gpl9pmyxU</ref>
In commercials for the [[TV movie|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 (well-known movie trailer voice [[Don LaFontaine]]) 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.
==Other Products==
Four other products are also currently produced by the manufacturers of HeadOn:
* '''ActivOn''' - [[Analgesic|ache and pain reliever]]
* '''FirstOn''' - anti-itch ointment
* '''PreferOn''' - fade the appearance of [[scar]]s
* '''FREEdHEM''' - [[hemorrhoid]] cream
In developmental phase is:
* '''HardON''' - [[ED CREAM]] to replace [[[VIAGRA]]]
The commercials for these products generally follow HeadOn advertisements and (save for FreedHem) do not share the repetitive nature of the original HeadOn commercial.
==Active ingredients==
There are three variants of HeadOn—Extra Strength Headache Pain Reliever<ref name="Walgreens">{{cite web |url=http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod1806169|title=Walgreens.com—HeadOn|accessdate=2006-11-2|work=Walgreens.com}}</ref>, Extra Strength Sinus Headache Relief<ref name="Walgreens">{{cite web |url=http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod2180504|title=Walgreens.com—HeadOn|accessdate=2006-11-2|work=Walgreens.com}}</ref>, and Migraine Pain Reliever<ref name="Walgreens">{{cite web |url=http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod1631458|title=Walgreens.com—HeadOn|accessdate=2006-11-2|work=Walgreens.com}}</ref>. Their "active ingredients" are:
===Extra Strength Headache Pain Reliever===
*Potassium dichromate 6X H.P.U.S. 0.05%
*White Bryony 12X H.P.U.S. 0.04%
===Extra Strength Sinus Headache Relief===
*Potassium dichromate 6X HPUS 0.05%
*White Bryony 12X HPUS 0.04%
*Golden Seal Hydrastis 30X HPUS 0.08%
===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%
==References==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>
==External links==
*[http://www.headon.com HeadOn website]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is3icfcbmbs YouTube Link]
*[http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2005/10/10-18-05tdc/10-18-05dscihealth-04.asp The Digital Collegian: Healing head pains]
*[http://www.slate.com/id/2146382 Slate Magazine's review of the ad]
[[Category:Homeopathic remedies]]
[[Category:Television commercials]]
[[Category:Internet memes]]
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