Sexual innuendo is being muted in TV ads for Pfizer Inc.’s erection pill Viagra as drugmakers react to added U.S. scrutiny of promotional campaigns for medicines.cheap kamagra jelly, kamagra jelly online
Instead of middle-aged bikers singing “Viva Viagra,” as seen in a 2007 commercial, the latest Viagra ad shows a gray-haired man meeting with a doctor. After Pfizer’s quit-smoking treatment Chantix was tied to suicides in 2008, the New York-based drugmaker added more than a minute of safety warnings into advertising that earlier had just 14 seconds.cheap kamagra jelly, kamagra jelly online
Pfizer isn’t alone in bringing a more serious tone to its ads. New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. now devotes half of a 60-second Plavix spot to side effects, twice the time in a 2005 ad for the blood thinner. The changes, tied to tighter enforcement of U.S. regulatory guidelines, are “increasingly noticeable” industrywide, said Maura Musciacco, an analyst with Datamonitor Plc., a research company.cheap kamagra jelly, kamagra jelly online
Ads for prescription medicine have flooded the airwaves since 1997 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided to allow drugmakers to shorten the time devoted to risks in their commercials, as long as they directed consumers to another source for more detailed information.cheap kamagra jelly, kamagra jelly online
When Margaret Hamburg was confirmed FDA commissioner in May, she said the agency would more aggressively enforce existing guidelines. As a result, the agency issued 41 warning letters to drugmakers, or almost double the number in 2008. The agency can assess fines, require that a company stop running an ad, force a correction, or even seize the product, according to the FDA.cheap kamagra jelly, kamagra jelly online
In May, the FDA released draft guidelines addressing issues such as raising music volume or using distracting images while the safety issues are being discussed.cheap kamagra jelly, kamagra jelly online
Concerns about consumers’ ability to focus on safety warnings in TV ads are legitimate. Quick moving objects, flashes of light or changes in volume can district viewers from a voiceover that lists safety warnings, said Duke University’s Ruth Day, who studies drug ads and how people use medical information.cheap kamagra jelly, kamagra jelly online
As an example, Day cited a 2005 commercial for allergy drug Nasonex, which featured an animated talking bee.
Viewers in a focus group couldn’t remember any of the product’s five side effects, Day said. The flapping from the bee’s wings during the risk section may have distracted them, she said. In ads running now, the bee hovers during the warnings and its wings are less visible, making it more likely that patients will pick up on the risks, Day said.cheap kamagra jelly, kamagra jelly online
Pfizer’s Jim Sage said Pfizer didn’t change its strategy because of more regulatory oversight. The new Chantix ads are designed to communicate updated warnings to the drug’s prescribing information by the FDA and encourage patients to talk to their doctors about quitting smoking, he said.cheap kamagra jelly, kamagra jelly online