Posted on 02/16/2006 1:58:40 PM PST by klossg
'Roses Are Red, Viagra is Blue...' Pfizer Knows Better - Shame on You! Says AHF
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ --
AIDS Healthcare Foundation, (AHF) the nation's largest AIDS group and a direct provider of HIV/AIDS medical care to tens of thousands of AIDS patients in the US, Africa, Central America and Asia, issued a warning today that it expects Pfizer, Inc., the world's largest pharmaceutical company, to run a Valentine's Day-themed ad for Viagra as part of its ongoing shameless holiday-themed advertising campaign for its blockbuster sex drug.
For the past several months, Pfizer has been running a direct-to-consumer holiday-themed print ad campaign that AHF believes promotes unsafe sex by encouraging the recreational use of Viagra on holidays such as New Year's Eve and the Super Bowl. AHF fully expects that Pfizer will not overlook Valentine's Day as another prime opportunity to play on men's vanity and fears in order to increase its profit margin and push its erectile dysfunction product at the expense of public health with another irresponsible Viagra ad.
Previous ads in Pfizer's Viagra campaign included the New Year and Super Bowl print ads. Some of those full-page, color print ads ran in such papers as The Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Daily News (and likely appeared in other markets throughout the nation). The ads depict a handsome, over-forty male grinning knowingly at the camera with the taglines:
* "Be this Sunday's MVP" (Super Bowl Viagra ad) * "What are you doing New Year's Eve?" (New Year's Eve Viagra ad)
The Super Bowl advertisement also included the following carefully worded reminder: "ED is an issue with half of all men over 40." The use of the word "issue" seemed designed to capitalize on men's fears, while giving Pfizer wide latitude to imply that as many as half of all men over 40 are afflicted with the medical condition Erectile Dysfunction, and could benefit from its product. AHF is concerned that the ads encourage recreational use of the drug, which in turn contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases.
"This shameless campaign for Viagra is soft on science and heavy on hype," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "While Pfizer may be following the letter of the law in its ads with disclaimers and FDA-mandated product information and warnings at the bottom of its ads, we believe it fails to honor any spirit of the law or sense of truth in advertising, and we are asking the FDA to immediately crack down on this irresponsible direct to consumer ad campaign. By using such non-scientific and open-ended language as saying 'ED is an issue' in its ad, Pfizer all but states that half of all men over 40 need Viagra or another such drug. Pfizer is deliberately capitalizing on Viagra's reputation: it feels that these men need only to be reached out to and treated on national holidays that are known for partying, binge-drinking, over-indulgence and excess such as New Year's Eve, the Super Bowl-and we expect, Valentine's Day."
By advertising a drug that is designed to treat a diagnosed medical condition as a way to enhance a holiday celebration, Pfizer sends a reckless message to consumers. In mid-January, AHF sent a letter to the FDA calling for a fast-track a review of Pfizer's irresponsible Viagra advertising campaign. In its January 10th, 2006 letter to Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), AHF requested that the FDA reevaluate the entire Viagra advertising campaign and consider asking for its full withdrawal, for the good of the public's health. A similar letter was sent to Pfizer CEO, Dr. Hank McKinnell. In addition, the Foundation will closely monitor for similar Viagra ads around upcoming holidays, including St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo and the Fourth of July.
The FDA previously made Pfizer pull ads from the controversial "Wild Thing" Viagra campaign that featured a male model sporting devil's horns and a tail, and seemed to suggest that users of the drug could recapture the vigor of their youth.
First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact:
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
CONTACT: Lori Yeghiayan, AHF Communications Specialist, +1-323-860-5227,or Ged Kenslea, AHF Communications Director, +1-323-860-5225, both of AIDSHealthcare Foundation
The safest sex is between men and women. The whining of an organization which never tells the public that the most UNsafe of sex is men with men somehow does not trip my concern meter.
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