Boner Drug Ads To Run Exclusively During Programs Targeted To Adults?
Tired of your kids asking you what "erectile dysfunction" is? You're not alone.
Ads for impotency drugs such as Pfizer Inc's Viagra have drawn the ire of lawmakers and others for their suggestive content, says Reuters, prompting a lobbying group to announce that the ads "should" be shown during "television programs or in publications that target adults." They also promised to disclose when actors were being used in drug commercials.
Some lawmakers are skeptical of the promises — because they are voluntary and can't be enforced by the FDA.
The FDA regulates industry advertising but has said that it lacks the staff and funding to review every piece of marketing companies put out.
Democratic lawmakers have been especially skeptical of pharmaceutical advertisements that directly target consumers and have used hearings to highlight some worrisome practices, such as using flashy graphics and other techniques to distract from a drug's risks.
"On one hand, PhRMA has taken our Committee's concerns seriously ... on the other hand, some of these changes are merely a rewording of prior policy that does nothing to increase consumer protection," said Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who heads the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee's investigative panel.
"Our investigation will continue, and we will be keeping a watchful eye on how well the industry follows these guidelines," he said in a statement.
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"Mommy, what's a no-points refi and what does it do?"
"Go ask your father"
True story: A boy that I teach in my kindergarten class called another boy a "four hour erection" as an insult. Seriously. I nearly choked on my coffee. Not sure if I would have had the same reaction if he had called him a "happy period" instead.
Why even show the ads at all?
I think I saw somewhere that the U.S. is the only country that advertises prescription drugs on tv. Can anyone confirm/deny?
on a slightly related note, how comes whenever i watch "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" on hulu.com they only show me ads for yeast infection medication?
@windycitygirl68: LOL that's hilarious. I wonder if the boy came up with it on his own or heard it from an older kid.
stay classy Consumerist!
It'd be nice if they limit the times that tampon ads are shown too. Or, better yet, just never show them.
"Mommy, what's heavy flow? How come that red dot is chasing that lady?"
*shutter*
I don't want to see them either. I should only know what Priapism is if I call a Dr and/or 911. It should not pop into my head when I hear and ad saying "an erection lasting four or more hours".
@dripdrop: They don't in Canada. I mean, American stations that broadcast in Canada still show them, but Canadian channels? None at all. And the first few times you see them, they're sort of strange.
Why can't they just be parents and explain to them that this is an adult medical problem. They'll be bored and not care. Besides, they can ask their friends.
Stop banning my limp penis ads, you nazis!
Mommy can't just tell their little ones that is why she left daddy. His penis broke.
On a serious note some idiots in this world should just simply not become a parent. If my daughter ask a question I give her an honest answer and as someone else said half the time she doesn't understand it and it doesn't come back up (no pun intended)
Some parents just want to shelter thier snowflakes from anything and everything in the world.
hehe. Not having any kids, I hadn't thought of this.
On another note, how come the religious right didn't jump on this years ago? Where was their outrage, at promoting sex in any way, shape, or form? Maybe some of the couples in the ads are cohabitating, or gasp, unmarried! And, the couples in the ads are usually too old to have children, so Viagra is intended only for recreation, and sex is for procreation! The conservatives have been conspiciously silent for a long time.
@TruthAndTheory: Because Rush Limbaugh smuggles the boner pills, that's why.
Oh, and the pharmaceutical companies are one of the Right's bulwarks against universal health care and the Canadian way of life.
I saw one of those ads once and thought to myself, "Mommy, why are those people lying about car trouble? Don't they WANT to go to dinner with their friends?"
Have they been showing these ads during kids shows?
("Hey kids, be the first on your block to have a four hour erection!")
@dripdrop: In Canada, they do, but they don't tell you what the drugs are for. It's like, "Cialis! Ask your doctor." And they have old people dancing around and weird crap like that.
Doesn't matter. "Kids" don't watch kid's shows any more.
@dripdrop: Wasn't there a lawsuit recently that made it so they *couldn't* advertise and for a long time we only had ads like unobservant mentioned - the "ask your doctor" ads - but then people became confused...
Then came the slew of "ask me what you need" doctor ads with the fake doctors (hate hate hate those). And those recently got banned too, didn't they?
Personally I think if they quit advertising and left it up to the doctors who prescribe the stuff (and no perks for them either!) to figure out whats best for their patients, that the whole thing would be tons cheaper, no?
I mean, we all know how much 30seconds in primetime costs. Give that back to the people who can't afford your pills damnit.
@SnehGlam: My ALL-TIME FAVOURITE endorsements were on CTV when the deep-voiced announcer kept saying "Degrassi: The Next Generation - brought to you by Tampax. Because being a girl rocks!"
I want to know where you go to find all of these dual-tub setups outside at the beach and in orchards...
@dripdrop:
It all comes down to advertising revenue (and greed). The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries you will find drug commercials like these.
@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★: I honestly was not acquainted with the word Priapism until I read "Rant" by Chuck Palahniuk earlier this year. But now, thanks to you I'll think of it during every other commercial during primetime.
But where am I going to get all my classy metaphors and euphemisms from now?
Whenever I see these ads, I think about that SNL skit about "BonerJuice", and how it can make your penis 'thick and meaty' LOL
@dadelus: They used to use the word, which is how I picked it up. Now they use the four hours line. It's surprising how often it plays, you'll now notice.
While we're at it, I'd like a ban on commercials for medications that treat hemorrhoids, urinary difficulties, and yeast infections. Not because I'm worried about the children (I don't have any) but because I don't need to hear about that shit. Wasn't there a time when we kept such things between ourselves and our doctors?
(Also, it ought to be illegal to cast actual children in the "big boy's bedwetting diapers" commercials, as it constitutes child endangerment if he goes to public school.)
@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★: You do have to admit, the word's just BEGGING to be used as a band name...
Aaaaaaaaaaand there goes a massive, throbbing, engorged revenue stream for the NFL.
They really need to get rid of all pharmaceutical advertisements not specifically aimed at medical professionals. Since big pharma can easily buy politicians, it is unlikely. How do you think they got the advertising anyway?
They spend more on ads than research you know.
@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★: Your factoid for the day is that priapism comes from the Greek God Priapus, who attempted to rape the nymph Lotis, and was either given a permanent ginormous but useless erection by the Gods as punishment, or else grew his own gigantic permanent erection from frustrated lust, but as poetic justice for the attempted rape, couldn't get any, so couldn't find relief. In some stories, it's so enormous he can't move.
Before Viagra, et al, you only ever saw the word when men had either some horrific disease, or else bicycled too much with a badly-fitting bike seat.
Then there is Mother Nature giving some woman her "monthly gift" so the kids can ask even more questions.
Why do we have to see all the disgusting medicinal/bodily function stuff at dinnertime?
@FuryOfFirestorm: Ah, Dr. Porkenheimer's Boner Juice. Chris Parnell was excellent at playing a fake doctor.
If there's one thing that Citibank should have taught us, it's that companies lie when they promise stuff like this to Congress.
If this is so important to the morality police, they should just pass the law.
On the other hand, aren't there more important things for Congress to consider than this?
@putch: Good question. Whenever I watch "Burn Notice" on Hulu, it's always Army recruiting commercials, but I can kinda see a connection there. The Terminator thing has got me stumped.
@CumaeanSibyl: As a former child actor, all I have to say is (what you said X infinity). I actually had a couple of kids give me shit for being in those kinds of commercials, and I was never in any!
@putch:
Watching 'Cheaters,' every other commercial break has a commercial for Extenze followed by Enzyte's smilin' Bob.
They now advertise an Extenze "male enlargement drink." It wouldn't be so creepy if the can didn't have EXTENZE in giant print on the side.
If you can drink one of those in public, I don't think you would need any "male enhancement."
"Warning : If you experience an erection lasting more than 4 hours,call your doctor"
Response: My doctor will be the SECOND person that I'm gonna call.
@NotYou007: Okay, yes, parents have a responsibility to explain stuff to their kids and not beat around the bush (also no pun intended) when the kid asks a question. But have you ever tried explaining a concept like "erectile dysfunction" or "priapism" to a three-year-old girl who not only doesn't know what sex is, but is only just now figuring out that Mommies and Daddies aren't exactly alike? At this point it's not a question of "sheltering" her, it's more a practical issue of how to explain things in a way that she will even be able to comprehend.
"What's a bonner?"
has anyone noticed that this website has now filled with penis enlargement ads??? There are three Vimax ads on this page alone.
I just want them to stop playing those annoying viva Viagra ads. I can't find the mute button fast enough.
A blanket ban on drug advertising to consumers is oh so needed and now.
@CumaeanSibyl: Once I saw bears showing their butts after just going to the bathroom, and focusing on the "cling-ons", I knew nothing was sacred anymore.
Yes, I understand that it is hard to explain things to such a young child. I made an attempt to explain to my daughter what a tsunami was when all those people died in 2004 and she was six years old at the time. She didn't understand it but I did my best to explain it because she asked.
Now if my daughter asked me what erectile dysfucntion was at the age of 3 years I would have been very impressed she could even pronounce two big words, let alone the word priapism.
If she did manage to get out those words at the age of 3 I would have just ignorned it. You can't explain these types of things to a 3 year even if you desire to. Their brains would not be able to grasp the concept. Even at the age of 5 or 6 they still won't grasp it. Ignore it and move one. They are not going to learn even on the playground what those words mean at that age.
Nothing personal but you failed at trying to prove your point.
@dripdrop:
They don't in the UK. I find the "get this drug, it's better than the other drugs (Warning! May cause death, rectal bleeding, involuntary sex change and convulsions!)" ads freakish in the extreme. In our land of EvilCommieSocialisedMedicine, it's left up to the doctor, rather than a pharmaceutical company's marketing team, to decide what medication a patient may or may not need.
My favourite ad is the one for the meds for restless leg syndrome, that "may cause increased gambling urges".
Seriously, WTF????
Too bad, I was hoping to use these as a lead-in to "the talk" when my kids are older.