About the AuthorRichard Meyer is a passionate Internet DTC marketer with over 15 years of progressive experience in consumer marketing who`s worked on top pharmaceutical brands like Cialis, Prozac and Sarafem, as well as two years with Medtronic Diabetes. He is currently consulting for his own company, Online Strategic Solutions, and writes a DTC column for PM 360 magazine and blogs for Eye for Pharma in addition to his own blog, World of DTC Marketing.
It didn’t take long for Aleve to start running commercials that target the latest news on Acetaminophen or Tylenol. TV spots are running showing that “two Aleve can last all day compared to a lot of Tylenol”. Not to be outdone the makers of Tylenol are running spots saying that Acetaminophen is the most recommended pain reliever by doctors with a lot of safety studies behind them. If you’re a consumer you just want a good pain reliever and you don’t want to have to spend time online determining what is best for your headache or aching legs. The FDA is confusing the hell out of consumers and is doing little to truly explain risks.
Just look at some of the stories this week when it comes to OTC or Rx products:
-Possible links between Lantus and cancer.
-Acetaminophen products can cause liver damage or death if not used correctly.
-Chantix and other Rx products for smokers can cause changes in mental health.
What the hell are consumers supposed to think? Are they supposed to go online themselves to find answers?
The makers of Aleve are promoting the hell out of their products but according to Celebrex.com all NSAID products carry a warning that should be communicated to the public yet on the Aleve website the language is conveniently absent? What are we supposed to think and do?
The FDA needs to develop a way to inform and educate consumers in plain language that does not cause a media sensation or a panic. I would start by adding “fair balance” to some OTC products like Tylenol and Aleve because these are warnings that consumers need to be educated about when they make OTC medication choices. On Celebrex.com the fair balance for NSAID states:
Is this true for ALL NSAID’s as Pfizer states or just Rx NSAID’s and if all why isn’t this warning on the Aleve site?
The FDA needs to think how the information they release is going to affect people and their health choices. Protecting the public also means that information has to be disseminated in a clear and concise way.
- Does Eli Lilly Make for an Intelligent Investment or Intelligent Speculation Today?
- What consumers and patients want in DTC TV ads
- Let’s Respond to FDA’s Questions Regarding Its Regulation of Social Media
- Fair Balance: Consumers want better disclosure. Another action item for the FDA
- Why do DTC marketers continue to spend (waste) so much money on TV?
Tags: aleve, celebrex-com, damage-or-death, health, language, media-sensation, products, public, the-information, their-products
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