Monday, October 13, 2008

Now a word about Canadian drug ads

One of the few benefits I get from my cable outlet is the tradition free trial for NHL Center Ice, where you can see out-of-market games, including from Canada. This used to include Hockey Night in Canada, but that's now on NHL Network. The bad news is that they take out the canadian ads.

Anyway, I was watching a Maple Leafs game, and thet had an odd ad where people are watching the news. The top story apparently was a married couple missing for four days, and their friends are wondering where they went. The last scene is the said missing couple entering a Best Buy or Future Shop. They see the news, and look a little embarassed. So what commerical is this for? Cialis!

That took me back to another Canadian ad for Viagra, where women are singing the "Good Morning" song from Singing in the Rain. Just click here, and you see what I mean.

Say what you will about the way we Americans advertise Cialis and Viagra on TV. We get a married couple sitting in side-by-side bathtubs, or a terrible jingle that blasphemes a classic Elvis Presley song, but at least we have some idea what these drugs do, plus a long list of medical warnings. Just putting in the name of the drug at the end of a commercial that makes no sense looks a little careless.

But that's just me, and I still don't like the "Viva Viagra" jingle.

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