First off, please accept my apologies for the negative tone of this particular journal entry. The truth is, I find absolutely nothing positive about commercials and or other forms of advertisement. We are bombarded by all practices of advertisements; the billboards which desecrate the beauty of the roadsides; matrix displays that distract motorists from paying attention to traffic; commercials interrupt the flow of television programs… The manipulations by the corporate world with only one true purpose, to transfer your hard earned wages to the lining of the shareholders pockets. The worst offenders in my opinion are the pharmaceutical companies, and the “celebrities” who endorse them.
One question that perhaps these celebrities should ask themselves when they consider accepting high salaries for endorsing drugs is this: “What right do I have to endanger lives by attaching my name to this product?” There is not one medication which does not have side effects, many of them could be life threatening. The rule of moderation does not apply when taking medication on a regular basis, ingesting foreign substances which unfortunately are NOT tested for a period extensive enough to determine the long term cumulative effects on the body.
Doing research for this project I ran across a statement of gratitude on the web to Sally Field for her endorsement of Boniva, a medication prescribed for osteoporosis. There are several law firms currently seeking cases for class action law suits which include Sally’s endorsed product as well as similar treatments due to severe fractures of hips, femurs, jaws. Let’s not forget to mention esophageal cancer. One has to wonder if the person who publicly thanked Sally is so very appreciative now, or rather is she one of the devastated victims of this poison’s side effects.
It is sad that people are so gullible as to be persuaded to purchase products on the word of a celebrity, someone who has no medical training. But is not this exactly what the marketing professionals the pharmaceutical companies hire want us to do? After all who can turn down the innocent “Flying Nun”?
The next question is how many people have these notables convinced to try the products they endorsed: Brian Vickers, NASCAR Driver, Xarelto (blood thinner): Tom Urich, actor, Pradaxa (prescribed for AFib): Victoza, (type 2 diabetes) Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, and Celebrity Chef Paula Deen: Enbrel (arthritis medication) is Pro Golfer Phil Micklelson’s drug of choice: Viagra, yep that infamous and miraculous little blue pill (erectile dysfunction) promoted by actress Kelly King. All of these medications are currently involved in litigations due to the serious side effects. Model CariDee English is a big fan of Stelara (Psoriasis medication); Blythe Danner’s Prolia, (for osteoporosis) and Sally Field’s Boniva all have several attorneys frothing at the mouth for victims to come forth so that they may increase their bank balance with the settlement funds they will earn by suing the producers of these drugs.
How many bodies have been damaged beyond their initial affliction because they ignored the warnings which are included in all commercials? Why? Because it was endorsed by someone well known, a person who has somehow earned our trust through their notoriety. Sad really.
In writing this diatribe, I realized that there are actually a couple of commercials that have stimulated a positive response within me. The first earned its emotional attachment through my Grandmother, God rest her soul. I cannot see a Flo (Progressive Insurance) commercial without reacting. My grandma was a huge fan of Flo’s, and I can still see her smile and hear her giggling whenever the mute button has been neglected during the dreaded “word from our sponsor” sessions.
The second but ALL TIME favorite has to be the one and ONLY time I was able to witness a commercial which blew up my arch nemesis of the advertisement world, the Energizer Bunny. Unfortunately, this commercial did not last long on air, no doubt the Energizer people took issue to the absolutely fabulous flurry of pink fur floating in the background! I have always said, good things generally don’t last long!
This post contains links to the commercials as well as a link to the FDA homepage should you like to research any of the medications listed above.
