Ok … here’s the other quiet truth about advertising agencies now a days…
Have you seen Mad Men? You know, with the drinking and the craziness and late hours and alcohol-and-coffee fueled people who seem a few minutes from complete mental breakdown?
Yeah, it’s still exactly like Mad Men, just without the rampant sexism. Its Friday afternoon here and various bottles of beverages have been opened and consumed since around noonish. And this is going to get capped off with a company-sponsored happy hour because why not?
So your separate-bathtub-boner-ad? Probably a result of either over-caffeination, sleep deprivation or alcoholism. Or most likely, all three. Then the medical-legal-promotional review team got their grubby little hands on it and it just got worse.
There’s a commercial for a weight loss drug; the name escapes me, but one of the possible side effects listed is “breasts that may become enlarged and lactating”.
There’s a drug for Shift Work Disorder that advertises on the radio (no, I don’t remember what it is). One of the side effects is “Trouble sleeping”. Ummm, isn’t one of the main reasons you’re taking the drug is because you’re having trouble sleeping? :smack:
Does that mean it cures you of the reason you’re having trouble sleeping & gives you a different type of trouble sleeping :rolleyes:, or that the drug just doesn’t work for some people?
We got a hint of what his life would be like for my dad without Humira last year when he had to go off it while being treated for another illness. It wasn’t pretty. He’s well aware that Humira may ultimately lead to his early death, but the alternative is pain, disability and being forced into early retirement. He feels he has chosen quality of life over quantity.
I work in software development for big medical data. Trust me, we’ve got a lot of caffeine-addled developers, and someone usually wanders around the office around 5 pm sharing alcohol. So, you know.
My wife is trying to arrange for a scrip for a med to treat her Non-24 hour sleep/wake disorder. The most often-reported side effect: nightmares. :smack:
Yeah, but see it’s not just the Tech guys who are drinking or caffeine-fueled. It’s everyone … project managers, account people, media people, designers (assuming its not something else…).
I’m not saying it’s not like that elsewhere, but its definitely like that here.
(Not to dismiss your point regarding ad industry norms and their effect on the creation and execution of medication commercials, just stating that other industries are also a bit weird in their own ways. I’m waiting for one of the more brainless client reps to complain that the company doesn’t provide gluten-free beer.)
This is hilarious, I love it, thanks for the laughs! The manufacturer would probably pronounce it "antidisestablishmentarianism "!
Glad others have noted the bizarre names they give these pharmaceuticals.
Would love to know what they were thinking by spelling it one way and pronouncing it another. Obviously, they stressed it to the actors and the voiceover since they all mispronounce it consistently. Where in the heck did they come up with the name anyway?
I remember an ad for something to thicken your eyebrows that warned it might kill you. “My god, Blanch, those are the best looking eyebrows I’ve ever seen on a corpse. It’s like she’s channeling Peter Gallagher.”
Me three. I have horrible, painful, crippling RA. But not now that I have Enbrel. Cost per month without insurance–$4000. I have insurance and am lucky. I’ll take the small risk of cancer.
I’ve saved a lot of my co-pay money (and a ton of my doctor’s time) since I first listened to those lists of side effects.
“Gee, my tummy hurts, maybe I should ask my doctor abou… wait, *what *was that? Explosive diarrhea, loss of limbs and then suicidal actions? Y’know, my gut’s feeling better already. I’m betting if i take some Tums I’ll be okay…”
My favorite is some new drug called “Trulicity”. I mean, with a name like “Trulicity”, the sound of the speed-talking voice-over who is listing the myriad potentially catastrophic, life-ending side effects just sort of fades away in a pleasant whisper: “Truu-liccc-ityyyy”.
Did you have a bad personal experience with it? I’m curious because I maven’t met anyone who has, but I hear a lot about how bad it is.
It was fine for me.
Sure, if you already have liver problems then you shouldn’t be taking it - but you really only need to take it for two or three months anyway, IME. Apart from that, I don’t know what side effects people are having. I strongly suspect that Big Tobacco has a little army of paid PR soldiers out there telling everyone that Chantix will make you want to kill yourself.
It saddens me that people who might otherwise be able to easily quit smoking like I did, are being turned off Chantix because of such rumors. Maybe I’m just sad because the Chantix I took three years ago, and which was fundamental in me quitting smoking, has made me depressed?
The current preferred prophylactic medication for travelling in areas with chloroquine resistant malaria has the side effect of…wait for it…making you hyper sensitive to sunshine!
