Aardman animates series of quirky E.D. ads

Finally, some halfway-decent erectile-dysfunction advertising. Over in the U.K., Levitra marketer Bayer Schering Pharma has unveiled nine animated shorts from Aardman Animations (and Prospero London) that tell the tale of "one man's journey from droop to Don Juan." Parts 1 and 8 are posted here. Here are all nine episodes. (The last one is a bit randy—the kind of thing Marge Simpson might appreciate.) The series, featuring a quiet, introspective E.D. sufferer named Dennis and his long-suffering yet sympathetic wife, has that über-British self-effacing tone of Aardman's Wallace & Gromit cartoons. "My life started getting a little, shall we say, tricky a while ago," Dennis explains on the YouTube site. "Activities in the bedroom became, you know, increasingly limited. No naughty business as it were. Not that I didn't want it, I just couldn't. It got me down, but now I'm back to my fine, upstanding self and you can see how in these videos. This is my story. Maybe it will even strike a chord with you." It sure beats U.S. E.D. advertising like the ads with the Whiskey Dicks and the dude who talks to his reflection on the way to the doctor.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on October 15, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Aardman, Bayer Schering Pharma, E.D., Europe, Pharma, Prospero

Yaz is sorry but I'm still not sure what about

When the young, attractive woman looked me candidly in the eye, I just knew she was about to tell me about birth control. There was a huge black banner that said "Yaz" at the bottom, for one thing.  But when she said "the FDA wants us to correct a few points," I did a spit take with my meatloaf sandwich. Yaz apparently reached a settlement back in February for two spots, "Balloons" and "Not Gonna Take It," in which Yaz made numerous claims that it treats symptoms commonly caused by PMS when it really treats PMDD. They also said it clears up acne, but it only clears up certain kinds of acne. So, Yaz agreed to spend $20 million on corrective advertising, and instead of spending it all in one big ad blast, they've strung it out, in an apparent effort do the most long-term damage to the brand. I do feel it's admirable for them to be so blunt, but the spot doesn't clear up anything for me. I've never heard of PMDD, and didn't know there was another kind of acne besides the annoying kind. On the other hand, it's the first b-control commercial I've paid attention to in years, and I did Google it seconds later, just to see how badly they were fined. That counts for something, right?

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Published on May 21, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Birth control, Controversy, Cullers, Pharma, Yaz

Tylenol PM wall-sheep will help you drift off

Deutsch is doing some pretty clever projection advertising for Tylenol PM around New York City. The video here, from Flickr users Steve and Sara, shows a parade of sheep bouncing off a "Sleep tight" headline on a blank wall in Brooklyn. The New York Times has a short piece on another execution in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood: The projection there shows a bunch of apartment windows; the closed ones represent Tylenol PM users, while the open ones show people trying like hell to will themselves to sleep. It's a cool idea and effect. The only downside, according to the Times, is the roar of the portable generator needed to run the projector—not itself something conducive to sleep.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on March 11, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Deutsch, Kiefaber, Pharma, Tylenol

Mexican ad for Viagra actually doesn't suck

Viagra commercials are generally awful, particularly the "Viva Viagra" ones with the guys sitting around grinning widely as they play music and sing about their erections. (The best thing about those ads is the name Copyranter gave the band: the Whiskey Dicks.) Cialis ads are no better. Maybe it's just because E.D. advertising is so wretched, but the new Viagra spot above, from Z Publicidad in Mexico, is pretty decent. It actually has an idea—it takes its characters back in time, all the way back to the first time—and strikes a decent, non-off-putting balance between romance and passion. By the end of the spot, the couple appear to be in their late teens. Go back any further, and they'd be in a JC Penney commercial.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on February 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (24)
Filed under E.D., Mexico, Nudd, Pfizer, Pharma, Viagra, Z Publicidad

No one appreciates a giant sex ad nowadays

The Advanced Medical Institute can't win. Last year, in Australia, its billboards with the headline "Want longer lasting sex?" were nixed because they were deemed inappropriate for children to see. (To try to confuse the kiddies, the company changed the line to "Bonk longer!") Now, a similar AMI billboard campaign in England, for some kind of sex-enhancing nasal spray, again with the "Want longer lasting sex?" headline, has generated 458 complaints. And the British advertising watchdog is indeed demanding that the ads be removed—but not because of the word "sex." It has ruled that the ads are illegal because prescription-only medicine cannot be advertised directly to the public.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on January 8, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Controversy, Europe, Nudd, Pharma

4 out of 5 headless women prefer Treximet

Now and then, the warm and fuzzy world of morning TV gets interrupted by a vision from hell. That's the case with this ad for migraine medication Treximet, now airing during The Martha Stewart Show and the like. It starts off unexceptionally, with a close-up of a woman's face as she describes her migraines. But soon it becomes clear she has bigger problems—her head seems to have come off entirely. She's cradling the throbbing thing in her arm, and has a gaping hole in her neck where the head used to be. All of this takes place at a suburban school-bus stop, adding to the Lynchian vibe. (Her son takes his mom's appearance in stride, but doesn't like to look directly at her.) Over the top or not, the spot is memorable. And migraine sufferers, not known for understating their level of pain, might actually appreciate the horror-movie theme. Read more at the Treximet site.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on November 26, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Freaky, Nudd, Pharma, Treximet

Your rooster wants to play in the nighttime

Cryptic ads urging me to "silence my rooster" have been receiving heavy play during the convention coverage. In the 15-second spots from Saatchi & Saatchi, people are woken up by noises only to discover ... um, a big fat cock. View the short spots "Drum Kit," "Basketball," "Car Alarm," "Hair Dryer," "Pay Phone" and "Vacuum." At first, I thought they were selling a pill that prevents nocturnal emissions. Then I saw a woman in one of the ads and figured I had misinterpreted. Eventually, I was curious enough to check out their slow-loading Web site, SilenceYourRooster.com. I was greeted by the heading "Tired of morning coming in the middle of the night?" Once again, I should point out that the product has nothing to do with nocturnal emissions. Apparently, it's for the sleep aid Ambien CR. I'm not the only one who's confused. DeadRooster.com has seen its traffic jump since the campaign started. By not telling us anything, the campaign is indeed driving traffic—just not necessarily to the right place.

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Published on August 28, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Ambien, Cullers, Pharma, Saatchi & Saatchi, TV

Airborne settlement nothing to sneeze at

The company behind cold remedy Airborne has just been officially slapped on the wrist by the Federal Trade Commission. Mentioned in Mental Floss's list of shameless false-advertising schemes, the ads and packaging dubiously claimed that Airborne could somehow prevent you from catching a cold. Now, the FTC is ordering the company to pay consumers back for as many as six purchases each, at an estimated total cost of $30 million. If you bought Airborne between 2001 and 2008, you have until Sept. 15 to apply for a refund. This ruling comes after a class-action suit on the same subject was settled earlier this year for $23.5 million. In addition, the lying liars have to change all their packaging and marketing language. Let's look on the bright side: Changing the packaging is a great excuse to get rid of one tragic line in particular. "Created by a school teacher!" doesn't really scream "medically legitimate."

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Published on August 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Controversy, Cullers, Pharma