All prescription drug commercials are pretty vile, but I saw one recently that really made me stop in my tracks and go, Huh? It's that ad for the bladder-control drug Vesicare, starring three women made out of shiny brass pipes telling us all about their leaky-bladder issues.
I can only guess that some advertising whiz came up with the leaky-bladder-as-faulty-plumbing concept. Which is fine. But who made the leap to animated characters composed entirely of pipes? And why do these pipe-ladies have no spigots? How come they have a normal-looking furry little dog when the pipe men have a dog made out of brass cans? Also, I'm really not getting the whole Sex and the City vibe here. Are stick-figured women who parade around in high heels while laden with shopping bags really the appropriate demo for this particular drug?
The other leaky-bladder commercial, for Enablex, which features a bunch of chubby, Disneyesque water balloons doing the conga at their Class of '68 high school reunion, suggests that advertisers think cartoon renderings are the only way illustrate this pesky and potentially embarrassing affliction. Which is pretty condescending. But at least this Enblex has got the demo right.
