Viagra TV Commercials: Enough, Already!

THE FOLLOWING IS AN ENCORE TIM MOORE BLOG:

The FDA approved of the drug online pharmacy viagra thirteen years ago this week.

Designed to treat men with erectile dysfunction, mercifully shortened (pardon the pun) to “ED” for the sake of the incessant TV commercials. Of course, other drugs such as Cialis and Levitra arrived “shortly” thereafter, with the same…uh…mission.

When Pfizer first developed Sildenafil (the chemical name for Viagra), it was for the treatment of high blood pressure. Chemists found that although it had little effect on hypertension, it did cause a certain “side effect”. Company officials quickly saw the commercial “upside” of this new drug—and in two short years—a very quick time for the FDA to do anything, Viagra hit the market. Getting former Senator and presidential nominee Bob Dole to endorse the drug was a huge coup as well. The History.com website says that although unconfirmed, the drug was invented by…are you ready?: PETER DUNN and ALBERT WOOD. (Very funny)

OK…so this is really about the TV ads. Frankly, no matter how “subtle” they attempt to be, there is no escaping the innuendo—and parents across America are embarrassed on what seems like an hourly basis as they endure these spots while watching TV with their children. Even when they put Mom and Dad in side-by-side bathtubs, the implication is rather obvious.

I’m waiting for my 11 year old to ask me what E.D. is. Guess “that talk” will happen sooner than I had planned….thank you, pharmaceutical companies! What’s worse is watching TV with your teenage daughter when these ads come on. Of course, they have had to survive watching TV with men when feminine hygiene products are advertised.

For Viagra, at $8-$10 a pill, the first-year take alone was in the billions of dollars. So, do any of them really NEED to advertise? Stealing market share from each other means they must feel it’s necessary, but the onslaught of ads is getting to be a bit much.

Below is one of the more creative ads—but as you’ll see, the teenage girl-in-the-house makes it all so creepy (for all of us) Enjoy!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFuuHPkORsA

My advice is to have a supply of topic-changers handy whenever these spots come on TV. Having the remote in your hand to MUTE is a good idea , too. Let’s practice: When the TV man says: “Are you having trouble with….E.D.?”, you:

a) Hit the MUTE button and
b) Say, “hey, how ‘bout them Red Sox?”

Good luck!

If you’d like my blog in your inbox daily, just let me know. It won’t cure E.D., but it is FREE….and that’s “hard” to beat! (ahem) tim.moore@citcomm.com