Public service ads or just a sales pitch?
The Wayback Machine is a useful tool in finding various articles that could possibly embarrass pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline. It allows you to trawl through websites that no longer exist, many of which have been taken down to avoid any further embarrassment to outlandish advertising campaigns such as the one I'd like to expose right now.
In and around 1999 posters were popping up all over the United States, many were pasted onto bus shelters and street corners. The poster was of a young man staring into a cup of coffee, looking despondent. Opposite him were a seemingly happy couple. The tagline for the poster read: "Imagine being allergic to people"
The poster carried the name of a website to visit - aptly named, allergictopeople.com.
The site is no longer up but the Wayback machine offers the chance to view it.
The poster appears on the website with the text:
You know what it's like to be allergic to cats, or dust, or pollen. You sneeze, you itch, you're physically ill. Now, imagine that you felt allergic to people. You blush, sweat, shake — even find it hard to breathe. That's what social anxiety disorder feels like. Over ten million Americans1 suffer from social anxiety disorder, an excessive, persistent, disabling fear of embarrassment or humiliation in social, work, or performance situations.
The good news is that this disorder is treatable. People can overcome social anxiety disorder. So if you feel like you're "allergic to people," talk to your doctor or other health professional.
For a free informative brochure about Social Anxiety Disorder, call 1-800-934-6276.
More information on Social Anxiety Disorder is available from the following sources:
The Sources are:
Freedom From Fear
Anxiety Disorders Association of America
American Psychiatric Association
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What the website does not tell you is where the funding came from for the apparent allergy to people 'illness.'
SmithKline Beecham
Their antidepressant, Paxil [Seroxat] had just recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of debilitating shyness, formally known as social anxiety disorder.
You would have to be from the planet Zog not to see the motive behind SmithKline's financial backing of the "Imagine being allergic to people" campaign.
At the time SmithKline insisted that helping the afflicted, not boosting sales, is the goal of the poster blitz. "We find that less than 5 percent of patients are really treated today," says Barry Brand, product director for Paxil. "There's tremendous need out there." The company, he adds, is adamant about deterring frivolous use. "We don't want this to be a pill that you take for shyness," continues Brand. "We don't want you to think, 'Oh, I'll take a Paxil and I'll feel good.' "
Interesting that Barry Brand should say that.
What did Glaxo want you to think when you took Paxil then?
Maybe what many people since 1999 have since stated.
Oh, I'll take Paxil and I'll feel crap!
Barry Brand is now CEO of CeNeRx BioPharma, Inc.
**Disgraced Psychiatrist, Chuck Nemeroff, has had dealings with Cenerx in the past... although he failed to disclose that particular conflict of interest!
Fid
Read the new book, The Evidence, However, Is Clear...The Seroxat Scandal
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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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