David Pernock has been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan since he was growing up in Swissvale. Living in suburban Philadelphia where he's a senior vice president for GlaxoSmithKline hasn't changed his football team allegiance.

	David Pernock, a senior vice president for GlaxoSmithKline, says the Levitra ad campaign will "encourage men to talk openly to their doctors without feeling bashful or awkward."

But as he gears up for the coming season, Pernock might be thinking more about the commercials that will air during Steelers game broadcasts than who's starting at quarterback.

That's because GSK and Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp. recently signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the National Football League that gives them exclusive rights to market men's health care products to a weekly NFL audience estimated at 120 million viewers. Since 100 million of those viewers are men, it's the ideal target audience for GSK and Bayer to launch a major advertising blitz for Levitra -- the anti-impotence treatment the drug makers co-developed and which is close to gaining approval for sale in the United States.

Company officials said some development work on the drug was done at both companies' Pittsburgh operations: Bayer's U.S. headquarters in Robinson and GSK's Consumer HealthCare division in Moon. "The NFL will play a key role in our advertising," said Pernock. "We want to be very, very visible in those events."

Pernock declined to confirm specifics of the sponsorship deal, but some reports say Bayer and GSK agreed to pay $6 million a year to promote men's health issues during NFL broadcasts and on the NFL Web site, stadium jumbotrons and billboards. Bayer and GSK are expected to feature former pro football coach and Aliquippa native Mike Ditka as a celebrity spokesman in a men's health care awareness campaign that is a key part of the NFL sponsorship.

The NFL deal, which has been in the works for about a year, could be critical in helping GSK and Bayer establish a name for Levitra in a market that's been dominated for five years by the "little blue pill" better known as Viagra. There's also a third player awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Cialis, a drug produced by Eli Lilly and biotech boutique firm Icos.

The total market for erectile dysfunction treatments is estimated to be worth $2.5 billion in worldwide annual sales and could grow to $6 billion by the end of the decade.

"Though everybody knows the name of Viagra, the vast majority of people with erectile dysfunction aren't seeking treatment," said Pernock.

Levitra's makers hope to capture not only the millions of men who haven't sought treatment but another 6 million or so who Pernock said had tried Viagra and for a variety of reasons, stopped using it. "There's a pent-up demand for a new alternative," he said.

Among the advantages Levitra's makers will tout is that it helps users achieve erections faster. Specifically, they claim it goes to work within 16 minutes compared with 30 minutes to an hour for Viagra. "That allows you a certain level of spontaneity," said Pernock.

They also claim it lasts longer (five to six hours) than Viagra and has fewer side effects which could make it safer for some users including diabetics.

Though the NFL deal may expose Levitra to the largest sports audience, Viagra's had a strong affiliation with men's sports the last couple years. It is an official sponsor of Major League Baseball and has used Rafael Palmeiro of the Texas Rangers as a spokesman. Pfizer also sponsors Nascar driver Mark Martin and has hired soccer star Pele for an awareness campaign.

Lilly's Cialis, already on sale in Europe, has grabbed a small share of the sports audience too: It sponsored the America's Cup in New Zealand this year and sponsors an auto racing team that includes Paul Newman.

Pernock declined to disclose details of the Levitra ad campaign but said it would try to raise awareness of the problem of impotency and "encourage men to talk openly to their doctors without feeling bashful or awkward." If Levitra gets FDA approval before the new fall TV season, viewers also can expect a barrage of advertising during regular programming as well as football games, Pernock said.

"It will be a big event -- no question about it. We're going to put the whole energy of the company behind it."

Pernock, 48, is a graduate of St. Anselm High School and attended Arizona State University where he studied international business and earned a bachelor's in marketing. After college, he worked in sales for Winthrop Laboratories and Key Pharmaceuticals and became a product manager and vice president of marketing when Key was acquired by Schering Plough. He was a vice president of marketing at Wyeth-Ayerst prior to joining GSK in 1993 when it was known as SmithKlineBeecham.

In his current position, which he's held since 1998, Pernock oversees about $7 billion in pharmaceutical sales and more than 3,500 employees.

He recently assumed a global assignment which includes spending about a week each month in Europe where GSK is trying to improve its sales force efficiencies.

Despite his demanding schedule, Pernock returns frequently to Pittsburgh, including trips for most major holidays because his wife's family is in Bethel Park.

As part of the NFL deal, GSK and Bayer are talking to individual teams about how to use their stadiums to promote men's health problems.

"And that includes the Steelers," said Pernock. "It would be terrific if we could be right there at the opening game."