Has\u00a0erectile dysfunction (ED) advertising\u00a0become\u00a0intrusive enough to affect our “normal”\u00a0daily lives? Depends who you ask.<\/p>\n
Consumer Reports<\/a> states that manufacturers Pfizer (Viagra<\/a>), Lilly (Cialis<\/a>) and GlaxoSmithKline (Levitra<\/a>) spent more than $300 million in advertising their products in 2007 alone. Cialis ad spending was up to $152 million in 2007, more than 250 percent over 2006.<\/p>\n Considering that\u00a0more than 18 million prescriptions were written for these drugs, and that combined sales eclipsed $3.7 billion, you can see why the manufacturers have\u00a0casting calls for new commercials almost every day.<\/p>\n This is big money we’re talking about. But when does it go too far?\u00a0Due\u00a0simply to\u00a0the demographics of certain TV audiences, the manufacturers focus their efforts in specific areas — especially sporting events.<\/p>\n Can parents\u00a0watch a\u00a0Sunday afternoon of NFL\u00a0football with their kids, or sit through\u00a0an evening watching “America’s Game,” without their own little sluggers asking\u00a0why the guy in the commercial needs medicine?<\/p>\n You don’t exactly have to scour the internet to find media articles and blog posts calling for a reprieve from ED. Personally, I’ve gotten used to these commercials (don’t we fast-forward our DVR through them all now anyway?) and I don’t have kids. So, I may not be the best person to ask.<\/p>\n But on the other hand,\u00a0many things that kids are exposed to these days\u00a0(not\u00a0the least of which\u00a0are\u00a0low-lifes at\u00a0school or even many\u00a0grown-up versions in the adult\u00a0general public) are a\u00a0lot worse.<\/p>\n Many things need to be explained to kids these days, and ED may seem like a walk in the park\u00a0when it comes to drugs and other things we need to\u00a0help our youth\u00a0steer clear of. But,\u00a0when it comes down\u00a0to it, there’s always a non-profit we can turn to for a little guidance, right?<\/p>\n In this case, it’s the\u00a0Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and their\u00a016 Guiding Principles for Direct to Consumer Advertising. These guys are the “policy setters” and “watchdogs” over their industry.<\/p>\n For instance, No. 16 of their guiding principles states: “In terms of content and placement, DTC television and print advertisements should be targeted to avoid audiences that are not age appropriate for the messages involved. In particular, DTC television and print advertisements containing content that may be inappropriate for children should be placed in programs or publications that are reasonably expected to draw an audience of approximately 90 percent adults (18 years or older).”<\/p>\n Talk about ambiguous, huh? What is considered “content that may be inappropriate for children?” Good question. It is something that people all over the world debate. If you think you have\u00a0the answer,\u00a0feel free to leave a comment.<\/p>\n Right now, I need to go set my DVR.<\/p>\n Brian Bujdos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Has\u00a0erectile dysfunction (ED) advertising\u00a0become\u00a0intrusive enough to affect our “normal”\u00a0daily lives? Depends who you ask. Consumer Reports states that manufacturers Pfizer (Viagra), Lilly (Cialis) and GlaxoSmithKline (Levitra) spent more than $300 million in advertising their products in 2007 alone. Cialis ad spending was up to $152 million in 2007, more than 250 percent over 2006. Considering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5689,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-erectile-dysfunction"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t