TV Drug Ads

I was subjecting myself to the modern America's most effective form of torture today (namely, Twins baseball on Fox), and I really couldn't help but note the number of ads I saw for prescription drugs.

I did have to run to the restroom quite a few times after that beer the other day, maybe I really should contact my doctor about Flomax. Hmm.

The whole idea of advertising a product which is inherently out of your control is bewildering to me. There's this notion, that if I as a consumer/patient, read that two page ad in "Better Homes and Garden," I will somehow gain a more nuanced understanding of pharmacy and medicine than my doctor, who presumably has completed years of painstaking education. But of course, that makes perfect sense! It's amazing how much fine print they can cram into one magazine ad, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. They try to cover all this up of course, by adding that small caveat: Ask your doctor if (blank) is right for you. Really though, isn't it more like, "this ad has convinced you (blank) is indeed right for you, so why don't you just run it past your doctor for good measure?"

As a nominal cog in the American health care machine (yes, machine), the strange thing is that once people actually find out the true cost of some of these glamour drugs, they are much less likely to desire them. Let's say, hmm, Lipitor. Lipitor is excrutiatingly expensive, and there are a host of similar generic drugs that may work just as effectively. It's stunning to see how quickly one person's adamant devotion to Lipitor will change, once they discover their insurance will no longer pay for it, and they are faced with a $230 charge. Per month.

But of course, for the folks in the ads, $230 a month must seem like chump change. Have you ever noticed, how happy and decidedly middle class everyone in prescription drug ads are? I mean, shit, the Flomax guy is flying his own plane! The Viagra guy is about to get it on with his absurdly attractive middle aged wife on his own private island! And these people, they have such interesting lives. It seems like every other person getting Avodart or some such thing is an accomplished blues guitarist, or a Hollywood model maker, or a professional golfer. I mean, I like to think I have some interesting hobbies, but how can I hold a candle to a guy who's hand-carving a boat? Or four guys who are having an impromptu Viagra hoedown in a roadhouse (see video)?

I must admit though, the Viagra ads puzzle me the most. The thing I've never quite understood, is do these men really need it? Look at their spouses. As a virile man, I have a difficult time believing they have ED under those circumstances. Maybe she has a terrible personality, but everyone in TV drug ads have incredibly interesting personalities, so that can't be right. No my friends, what would really be an effective commercial would be to showcase the sorts of normal men who actually need Viagra for use with their normal significant others. Shockingly, they don't all have hard bodies, and their wives don't look like gracefully aging beach volleyball players. It's more like beer bellies contained in a worn Harley-Davidson t-shirt. I mean, if Viagra can work for HIM with HER, than it can certainly work for YOU! If that's not a nifty little jingle, than I don't know what is.

Point being, these ads are ridiculous. Kind of like the Twins' road record (5-16).