Pfizer,
For years you’ve infected our living rooms with commercials about old men who can no longer get erections. We’ve endured countless occasions when we were sitting there with our children and parents pretending that we weren’t watching commercials about penises that didn’t work properly. I’ve had to sit there and explain to my young daughter why our family time is being invaded by a product that has no business being promoted on public TV. We’ve been forced to have conversations, not about something important like HIV or crystal meth use, but about horny old men.
Now, you have created the Viva Viagra Band, perhaps the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard of. A bunch of old hillbilly looking men (with a black guy thrown in for good measure) sitting around a recording studio singing songs about Viagra. The sick thing is now my children are singing this jingle around the house.
It’s not funny. It’s not cute. It’s sick. How long will it be until you start advertising your product by showing our children exactly how horny old men have sex while using your product?
Subscribe to jimmysdad
I hope to die before I become old enough to be disgusted at my own naked self
The Logos on April 11th, 2008 at 2:28 pm | Link
I also think this is the stupidest advertising on television today. How does a bunch of guys sitting around playing instruments relate to ED? Maybe they should be playing with “their” instruments instead!
Ray on April 14th, 2008 at 2:52 am | Link
When you young whippersnappers (the male type) get a little older you will be saying “Thank you Jesus for Viagra…and Levitra and Cialas!”. Of course it’s better to be ashamed of our sexuality isn’t it…to pretend that we really enjoy doing the nasty. God help us if our children would get the message that sexuality is healthy! Just like every other medical problem, sometimes you have to take a pill to make “it” better! What I am trying to say people is get a freaking life! God bless you all!
Mike
who at age 67 sometimes pops one of those little blue pills
Mike on April 23rd, 2008 at 11:51 am | Link
Mike,
I’m with jimmysdad. I have no problem with Viagra being available, either. I think the recent ads are just completely inappropriate. I’m not ashamed of sexuality, but do we really need to be pumping all this crap about ED into our family rooms?
I bet it won’t be long until Pfizer starts showing ads of Viagra using men having sex. They have very few standards as far as advertising their product goes and it will only get worse.
This is a very disgusting ad, indeed. I am now 60 and I probably will never have any use for such medication as viagra, or whatever . . . Of course, my wife is about half my age and very attractive too. Believe me; that doen’t mean anything. Just look at the group of men in the TV commercial though, with no women and one is black and there’s a dog “available”??? . . . Or what? Couldn’t there also be like a caged parakeet or a cockatill? . . . NPI. Huh? Are these men supposed to represent the homosexual community? No one ever thought before creating this stupid commercial for TV.
Lother DeBerry on May 12th, 2008 at 1:04 pm | Link
The “Viva *gag* Viagra” commercial are as disgusting than tampon/kotex commercials (”Glory be, just look how much ‘liquid’ this tampon absorbs compared to the old cardboard-applicator type. It goes in real smooth too. Yup, slick as a whistle”). I am not saying get rid of the product, I am saying, don’t put it on TV.
Janna on July 24th, 2008 at 1:55 pm | Link
I am a former Pfizer employee and agree 100% that the Viagra ads don’t need to run at 6 p.m. when my young daughters are watching TV. I recall that Pfizer first justified the Viagra ads by claiming erectile dysfunction was a serious medical condition that needed to be addressed. However now the commericials are absolutely about recreational sex and depict some bald headed guy picking up his wife on a motorcycle and driving to a hotel for sex. The ad states that Viagra brings “spice” to your sex life. It is simply disgusting! What happened to the serious medical message about ED? I guess Pfizer had to go after more customers as the ED market got more crowded. The good thing is that viagra will be generic soon and Pfizer won’t spend a single penny to promote it anymore. All of a sudden erectile dysfunction won’t be important to Pfizer anymore and they’ll start promoting some other product on TV. Let’s hope Levitra and Cialis will stop their spending war when Viagra vanishes from our TVs.
bernard vezeau on August 14th, 2008 at 3:22 pm | Link
Sex is for gays.
Meat on December 1st, 2008 at 7:17 pm | Link
Ah, yes, the falacy of unbridles capitalism raises yet another ugly head.
Jeff on February 8th, 2009 at 6:41 pm | Link
The Viagra commercials have no place on TV!! To Mike: you talk about sexuality and how our children being exposed to “how healthy” it is. How would you like it if someone exposed your kids to that kind of smut?
I have had way too many awkward moments bc of a nasty a$$ commercial about wrinkly ppl. Perhaps impotence is nature’s way of telling you to stop doing it.
J on April 15th, 2009 at 5:52 pm | Link
The Pos-T-Vac commercials are even worse. Again, a bunch of old horny hillbilly men talking about calling that “one eight hunnerd number” and start pumping your penis to new heights.
BILL on June 26th, 2010 at 1:24 am | Link
I bet those ads don;t run outside of America. It’s American men who have always been stereotyped by the media as wimp-s, bad decision-makers, the only sex that commits crimes, and of course, womanizers and the only people that cheat on their spouses. Which of curse is why women almost always are given children automatically after a divorce and the fathers are lucky to ever see their children again.
This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.
Aleta Jarver on September 2nd, 2010 at 7:00 pm | Link