Sunday, December 30, 2007

Are Prescription Ads Bad Performance Art?

Yet another wonderfully vile advertisement for prescription medication is doing the rounds on American TV. It is standard in this field that the level of butterflies and flowers in the ad are in inverse proportion to the general squirm-inducing nature of the malady the drug is intended to treat. A classic of the genre, this one is for a prescription laxative.

Setting aside how horrendously egg-bound one must be to need a prescription strength laxative, what really grates are the contraindication warnings. Apparently, those afflicted with severe diarrhea should not take the prescription laxative. Presumably this is the scatalogical equivalent of matter and anti-matter. You have been warned. If you have the squirts, don't take the roto-rooter pill lest the universe implode or something.

What sort of maniac would do that? If you have the shits, is the first thought that crosses your mind really "Ooooh- a powerful laxative should help me feel better!"? Jesus.

Yuck. Sorry for sharing.

2 comments:

Maestra said...

The list of side effects are never worth taking the medication for. You can get a wart removed from your pinky toe or risk the chance of having a heart attack or having a seizure if you dare to use the meds to remove the wart
hmmm wart vs heart attack?

Wisdom Weasel said...

Although for restless legs syndrome sufferers surely the risk of perpetual vomiting is preferable to helplessly windmilling from the waist down? I know that if I had some made up disease invented to exploit the human need to have an excuse for some failing or another I'd put up with puking my guts out so that I could claim spurious medical reasons for my constant fidgeting.

MainePages.com