I have a great friend by the name of Mariette. She is a medical rep and takes her job very seriously. She visits doctors every day to talk to them about her company's products and how they work. She regularly writes exams and attends conferences to make sure she understands the studies, the impacts and the side effects. She knows and understands her products intimately. Her focus is on the doctors and pharmacists to keep her products top of their mind when prescribing or making recommendations. She doesn't deal with the direct public. Its a full-time job back in South Africa. I don't believe Mariette is needed in America.
America takes care of all of this with 90 second adverts on TV. Lots of them. Mostly for something to take care of bowel issues. Usually aimed at the older population as I have yet to see anyone in an advert, under the age of 50 unless they are posing as a grandchild. The advert starts with an actor performing some sort of activity or their inability to perform that activity. Either a very happy face or someone who is down in the dumps as they can't do something anymore (queue sad dog or pathetic grandchild). The background music is either something upbeat because Billy beat Diabetes or melancholy and slow because Mary can't poop.
So the advert has started and in the first 5 seconds you have an idea of the bodily function fixer-upper being advertised and then the unpronounceable product name appears in bold letters at the top of the screen. Sometimes in smaller letters, they will print the more commonly known name, just in case you are very familiar with it already. Just like a warm blankie on a cold night I suppose. For some of the more difficult names, they actually have a phonetic pronunciation under the name too! The music and video fade into the background and a shot of the product comes into the foreground...
A command-able voice starts talking about the product - if you're lucky its the voice of an old-and-out-of-work celebrity. The voice pronounces the name a few times in the next few sentences (just so it sinks in). They either get us to rejoice with Billy or sympatise with Mary. Details of how the medication works is explained in quite a bit of detail. Music and video come back to the foreground and happy faces talk to you about how great they feel or how this product has changed their lives. Then comes the fun part and the music and video fade again.
I remember back at home when the tobacco companies and gambling houses first had to include the warning label in their advert clips. A quick flash on the screen and a number you could call to help you get over your addiction. It was like subliminal messaging - too quick to actually take it in. Then the National Credit Act came into being and all of a sudden you were read the small print on the radio for credit cards and vehicle financing. Usually every word articulated but at a speed that no rational ear could catch on. It remains small print after all.
NOT HERE IN AMERICA! Here every single side effect of the drug is part of the voice-over. They are slowly articulated so that there's no confusion that something that appears to cure Frank's IBS can also allow him to die a slow and painful death (at least have suicidal thoughts or actions) and those handy-enough-to-carry-in-your-handbag wipes for Tammy's hemorrhoids could cause an allergic reaction to bees. As someone new to the genre, it is mind-blowing to hear the side effects of the drugs on the market. Mariette would shudder if she had to read them out to the general public every day like these guys are paid to do. Everything from death to one's skin breaking out in awful sores are read out with perfect clarity.
The adverts here are not directed at the doctors or pharmacists - they punt their products direct to the general public. The public must ask their doctors to prescribe the products while the small print says you should speak to your doctor about whether the product would be suitable for you. You don't care about it being suitable, you want to stop your chronic diarrhea right now and any which way you can so that you can be as happy as Mike playing his guitar on a stage with hardly anyone in the audience. He looks so happy after all, that means the drug must surely work wonders.
I am sorry Mariette, but there is no place here for you. You aren't an old actor struggling to buy his next bottle of champers. You have pride. You have dignity. If you were here, you'd be without a job. You of course wouldn't have all the free samples that come with advertising the product but then I don't think you promote hemorrhoid wipes either.
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