Rally With Sally, my nelly
April 24th, 2006The other morning, actress Sally Field was a guest on NBC’s Today show. She was not promoting a movie or program; rather, she was on to raise awareness about osteoperosis, with which she was recently diagnosed.
On the program, Field warns women never to miss a dose of their medication and she notes how easy it is to remember to take the “once-a-month” pill.
Anyone who has seen the heavy-rotation commercials for Boniva would recognize this script. Field regurgitated her talking points almost as well as an obsequious Republican, directing viewers to www.bonehealth.com. Field never mentioned the name of the drug or its maker, Roche
Therapeutics, which is presumably what exempted her and NBC from having to disclose her fee structure.
On the Rally With Sally web page, her profile effuses “Taking Boniva® (ibandronate sodium) helps me manage my osteoporosis so I can embrace this glorious third act of my life.”
Newswires have picked up the story about Field’s campaign, but an exhaustive search failed to uncover the economics of her deal.
The tv broadcast business model is rapidly changing. Most of us gleefully zip past commercials, oblivious that we’re consuming expensive
entertainmnet while short-changing its producers of their historic revenue source. The soap-opera model of the 50s is coming back, with product placement unapolagetically prominent in many programs. I strongly suspect that NBC gets a cut for its role in the promo, but they’re obviously under no obligation to reveal this.
I think pharmaceutical companies deserve healthy profits to encourage the massive investments they make in developing new drugs. However, consumers should be aware that drugs are being promoted under their noses without the requisite risks and warnings of traditional, regulated advertising.