Furious Seasons

June 03, 2009

Pristiq TV Ad Now Airing

Recently, I noted that Wyeth's year-old Son of Effexor anti-depressant Pristiq was not being widely used (the company's not even reporting sales figures) and was still racking up adverse events reports at quite the pace for a new drug. We can all now look forward to more sales of Pristiq and more adverse events reports. That's because Wyeth began running a national TV ad for its sluggard drug last night and also has a big ad out in Newsweek.

You can view the TV ad here. And please do view it as it features a women with a wind up doll (yes), noting how depression forces her to wind herself up each day, then comes the obligatory chemical imbalance graphic, then comes the happy woman playing with her children and husband in the sunshine while the voiceover walks through the side effects (suicidality, hypertension and so on). It's classic stuff.

Notes the drug's website:

"Depression can make you feel like you have to wind yourself up to get through the day...Depression can take so much out of you. PRISTIQ can help."

And only you can help Wyeth.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at June 3, 2009 12:03 AM

del.icio.us Digg it reddit

Comments

did you have to implore us that we watch that commercial?? I need to go vomit now. UGH.

Posted by: Gianna at June 3, 2009 06:55 AM

I'm sorry but I find it crazy-making bizarre to have a man's voice warning about suicidality when the picture features a woman *smiling* and a little automaton doll marching in place. Too many disparate messages for my little brain to take in all at once.

Gosh, I guess I need some Pristiq. Which is "thought to" work on my neurotransmitters. Which no one can measure or understand, of course.

Wow.

Posted by: Sherry at June 3, 2009 09:14 AM

It makes women appear to be idiots, this one holding her wind up doll with a delusional look on her face as if she's on another planet while her family is at the park. Like we pack Barbies in our backpacks to pretend to play "real world"; just short of patronizing this reminds me of stepford wives on happy pills.

Well, I'm smarter than that. Smart enough to know this drug is a re-packaged marketing technique for the company to increase sales, and assuming women are doormats and idiots who fall for that crap.

Give me a break, all she needs now is a make-over follow up commercial with her wearing make up, smiling and taking a hammer to her doll toy, depicting true emancipation.

Posted by: Stephany at June 3, 2009 10:30 AM

That was the CREEPIEST commercial I have ever seen in my entire life. I agree with all comments above and have add my own barf blehk gross.

Posted by: katielou82 at June 4, 2009 10:53 AM

I am just sitting down to watch my favorite first run TV show tonight- (Law and Order CI) and saw the commerical. At first I thought it was an ad for getting tickets early for the NYC Ballet's production of the Nutcracker. Eerie.

Well, now my night of TV is ruined. Going to bed.

Posted by: susan at June 7, 2009 06:38 PM

This ad is the most insane thing I've ever seen on TV. I found this page while trying to find a video of the ad to show friends who will find it scary and darkly hilarious

Posted by: Gary at June 8, 2009 07:43 PM

The freaky Pristiq ad: at first I thought it was a joke! I Twittered about it a few weeks ago. Love your comments: CREEPIEST, darkly hilarious, and eerie. Did you see the bizarre look on the woman's face as she smiles at the doll? Is it supposed to mean she feels wooden and just needs to be winded?

I bet they parody this on SNL soon.

Love Stephany's comment from above: "It makes women appear to be idiots, this one holding her wind up doll with a delusional look on her face as if she's on another planet while her family is at the park. Like we pack Barbies in our backpacks to pretend to play "real world"; just short of patronizing this reminds me of stepford wives on happy pills...

... Give me a break, all she needs now is a make-over follow up commercial with her wearing make up, smiling and taking a hammer to her doll toy, depicting true emancipation."

Posted by: Lydia Cornell at July 3, 2009 01:31 PM

When are the women's orgs going to comment on this crap?! It is repusive.
This commercial was no doubt created by a (married) man. I can't wait to see the SNL episode!

Posted by: Outrageous at July 24, 2009 01:42 PM