RSS
Home
Ban on ads for Viagra, Cialis, et al: right idea, wrong reason
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
As reported in this article from Advertising Age, a bi-partisan team of U.S. Congressmen has introduced legislation that would ban erectile-dysfunction and male-performance-enhancement ads from commercial TV between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. An aide to Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia is quoted as saying, “The congressman does not have a problem with the drugs – only the advertising. His feeling is that they’re not appropriate for family viewing hours and some of the advertising makes for uncomfortable situations.”
While I can readily agree that the ads are offensive, I believe the congressmen and I differ on precisely what it is that offends us. The problem, as I see it, is that the ads, generally speaking, are poorly conceived and strangely cast. A few examples are in order:
My first inkling of a problem came with the ad showing the couple on the veranda in side-by-side bathtubs. The logistics of trying to get intimate in such a setting strike me as entailing risks and impediments far greater than those addressed by the product offered for sale. After all, this drug is targeted at people who are not as young and agile as they once were. Clambering over the side of a slippery bathtub in the heat of passion seems positively fraught with peril. How about one big, comfy bathtub for two? I’m not asking for the moon here; just something workable; something that doesn’t leave me worrying for the health of one or both of the participants.
Then we have the couple that clearly seems to be home alone, getting into the mood; yet when “the moment is right” they stroll into the bedroom together (alternately, the man carries the woman) and they punctuate the moment by closing the door behind them! Once again, I am left not thinking about the product or its touted effects, but instead wondering whether the next-door neighbors habitually walk in without knocking. Otherwise, this fussiness about closing doors calls to mind the scene in American Beauty where Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening seem about to get romantic when Bening frets about Spacey spilling wine on the Italian silk upholstery. I mean, could we relax a little here and cut loose?
But the preceding complaints are mere quibbles – foreplay if you will – compared to my biggest issue with these ads. It has to do with the actors playing the roles, particularly the men. It’s just one creepy dude after another! And if not exactly creepy, then just weird-looking at best. I’ve heard the argument that this is intentional on the part of the advertisers, that they’re trying to use average-looking Joes so that we fellow shlubs may project ourselves into the role. If that’s the case, then the ad folks have made a bad miscalculation – I don’t want to project myself onto a guy who looks like that. No, I want to think that I’m as handsome and desirable as Hugh Jackman or Brad Pitt (or, to be more age-appropriate, maybe George Clooney). In fact, the idea that somebody that good-looking might be taking something to enhance their prowess would be a tremendous shot in the, uh, arm, for the rest of us.
Another possible explanation for the use of these odd-looking fellows might be that the really good-looking actors won’t take this kind of work, lest they should risk sullying their virile images, so the ad folks are left to choose between guys who will take any work that comes along. Having spent some years as a member of the Screen Actors Guild myself, I can attest that there are actors who will turn down certain roles, either for deep philosophical reasons (e.g., a vegan friend of mine who turned down a lucrative national commercial for McDonald’s) or for shallow philosophical reasons (e.g., another friend who turned down a goofy role in an ad for a used car dealership because, “I don’t want this clip turning up years from now when I’m doing the talk shows to promo a movie”).
So, in the spirit of finding agreement and consensus, I can declare a kinship with anyone who finds these ads inappropriate and wishes to restrict their display on the public airwaves.
Postscript – It’s been around 20 years since the aforementioned actor turned down the role in the used car dealership ad, and he still hasn’t made it to the talk show circuit to promote his movie work. This is only speculation on my part, but I’m guessing he isn’t so particular anymore about the types of roles he’ll accept.
