Never Mind the Grammys(tm) 5-Minute Delay...

[Laurence Glavin]

Never mind the Grammys(tm) 5-Minute delay, there was a 
TWO WEEK delay on todays's (02/15) LTAR.  The subject
area for the first few minutes' discussion was the offensiveness
of the ccommercials and half-time show during the , um,
Big Game February first.  Donna and Bob may have had
their own opinions, but couldn't have been aware that 
over 200,000 complaints had been made to the FCC (some
from "religious leaders" objecting to the Janet  Jackson
fallout, including oddly enough the titular Bishop of Akron I hear).
I didn't view the telecast or the commercials that day,
but I heard about the one featuring the flatulent horse.
This isn't the first time the excretory antics of beasts
were used in a commercial during the Big Game;  a couple
of years ago, an auto maker showed a squadron of birds
chasing a sports car owner hoping to dump a load on the 
vehicle's spiffy finish.  The driver fortunately made it to the
garage in time.  This spot apparently was intended
to highlight the car's rack-and-pigeon steering!
All of the criticisms of the erectile-dysfuntion ads
overlooked a perennial problem of pharmaceutical manufacturers:
preventing a competitors' brand-name from becoming a
synonym for the product category itself.
This happend to aspirin in the early 20th century,
and Pfizer's "Viagara" threatened to become the drug
of choice for those with wan weenies on brand-name
alone.  Thus Eli Lilly with Cialis and Bayer (who had lost
the rights to "aspirin" a century ago) maker of Levitra
had to spend a lot of money to bring their brands to
the awareness of a large and largely male audience.
(I understand the next major pharmaceutical firm
to come out with an erectile dysfunction preparation 
will be Upjohn!)

 





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