Furious Seasons

May 01, 2007

You Wondered Just How Big The Bipolar Hype Was?

Or maybe you didn't. Or you already knew. But yesterday I ran across the following on the main page of MySpace:

Sponsored Links Bipolar Disorder
Learn About Symptoms & Treatment Options: Find Information
managebipolardisorder.comSymptoms of Bipolar

Look for Bipolar and Manic Depression Symptoms
treat-bipolar-disorder.netSymptoms Of Depression

Top 6 Websites For Symptoms Of Depression
www.Top6picks.comBipolar Disorder

I got my life back. It just takes a plan to manage bipolar disorder.
www.BipolarHappens.com/Hope

MySpace's main page holds only four text ads, and while I have seen one or two be bipolar-related at any one time, never have I seen all four at once. This tells you something. Or not.

Treat-bipolar-disorder.net takes you to more text ads. Managebipolardisorder.com is a Lamictal website. The third is an odd web portal of no interest. The last, a patient offering advice and a book on managing bipolar, which she claims affect more than 17 million Americans. OK, that's not even possible.

I'd say we are a pretty big market for someone out there. Maybe MySpace. Which means Tom.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at May 1, 2007 12:54 AM

del.icio.us Digg it reddit

Comments

My company recently started marketing efforts through MySpace, 'cause it's the hip new thing ya'll (not really). Now Facebook is probably a better demographic for big pharma as it skews younger than MySpace. I wonder if there's been any marketing initiatives into Second Life (which is actually the next big marketing channel). The nice thing about Second Life is that users can band together and "attack" that which they don't like. I know that agression is bad, but there would be something very satisifying about throwing pig grenades or joining forces with some poo-slinging communists.

Posted by: Chloe at May 1, 2007 09:05 AM

I saw the full page Abilify ad discussing managing bipolar, in "Woman's Day" magazine, as well as an "Entertainment" celeb magazine; the same ad from that phone booth.

Posted by: Stephany at May 1, 2007 09:09 AM

Are you sure that's not being shown to you because of an advertising tracking cookie? I went to Myspace.com and reloaded the page constantly and saw no such ads.

If you clear your Web browser's cookies, you may find those were being shown to you because of your previous online viewing behavior (e.g., looking at bipolar information, news, resources, etc.).

Posted by: Dr. John Grohol at May 1, 2007 09:38 AM

great point john. i cleared my cookies and it's still coming up that way...well 2 of 4 were. fascinating stuff. but yeah it could be a tracking related thing. it sure is an interesting barometer, though i haven't seen any seroquel ads on myspace lately.

Posted by: Philip Dawdy at May 1, 2007 10:01 AM

"it could be a tracking related thing"

Enjoy iGoogle, which has personalized searches. It'd be nice if they kept track of all your Zyprexa searches and targeted Google ads to show you a slew of psych med advertisements.

Posted by: Marissa Miller at May 1, 2007 10:13 AM

As a person with Bipolar Disorder with the illness that has existed over a century within my family, this absolutely drives me crazy. They are going to demean what it means to be truly Bipolar and have people jump on the bandwagon like they did with depression. Bipolar disorder is a real disease and should not be used as a marketing scheme. This very issue was brought up myself to other people. It's absolutely absurd. I don't want my illness marketed.

Posted by: Al at May 3, 2007 01:57 AM