The other day we had to clean out the fish tank. Then, later I was in my favorite room in the house, the garage.
I happened to notice, this on my work bench…
To borrow a phrase from one of my favorite movies…. “Honestly, it’s not mine!”
The other day while watching some of March Madnesses best, I suddenly stopped to think about how many commercials there were for medicines. It got me thinking. And that, is NeVeR a very good thing.
Seems that it has been legal to advertise for medicines on Television since 1962 really, with many adjustments. The one new regulation in 1997 required that medicine commercials list possible side effects, etc. That got me wondering, how many side effects does a person actually remember and better yet, how many can match a possible side effect to a particular drug? This new regulation marked the day the dam broke in terms of TV Drug advertisting, i.e. TV DRUG Commercials, in my humble opinion.
We’ve all heard about “snake oil salesmen” and “remedies” that can cure just about anything. So, we had the “Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906”, the formation of the FDA in 1927 to regulate the sale and advertising of Rx drugs while the FTC was to handle “over-the-counter” products. The department of the FDA to do that regulating is called, (drumroll please)…. “FDA’s Office of Medical Policy Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC). Yeah, doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue does it?
The thing I wonder is how successful would this Direct-to-Consumer advertising of medicines be if possible side effects weren’t just listed but had beautifully crafted works of visual art showing them like is used in a medicine’s good effects, like two people holding hands in two bathtubs?
Well, we all know that won’t happen because one thing that is for sure is that Direct-to-Consumer advertising works. “Ask you doctor…, blah, blah, blah”. People remember things, in a BIG way. Or, if listing it out with an auctioneer’s voice is effective then leave it all alone. So, can you name this medicine?
I don’t know about you, but I call that list of side effects, “Tuesday”.
I had a little bit of a revalation today. You know that Pinterest has become the new big social media guerilla in the room right?
Well, it that what’s got everyone excited and “pinning” things they like to the site or are a bunch of people or Yentas finally coming out of the Philadelphia Phillies fan closet?
