So, I admit I watched a lot of television last night and saw a commercial for a relatively new osteoporosis-breast cancer prevention combo drug from Eli Lilly called Evista. Actually, I saw it three times.
And I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about it that just doesn't sit right. Just as Congress is doing some sabre rattling over direct-to-consumer drug advertising, Lilly debuted the campaign yesterday for the osteoporosis drug which the Food and Drug Administration approved last September as a breast cancer preventative as well. Lilly's trying to get the word out about the unique two-in-one profile of the pill.
The commercial features a series of images of menopausal-age (or are they post-menopausal?) women wearing nothing but towels or sheets held by their clutched hands as they stand in a stark, mostly white setting with water cascading here and there. It looks like it could be some kind of fancy spa. Some appear to be holding up the covering, others look like they're cupping a single breast or both breasts. A few of the women have just a hint of a smile. Most look rather blank as the voiceover announcer extols the drug's virtues and side effects including a high-level safety warning about blood clots and stroke.
What was slightly unsettling about the commercial was how so many of the women looked as if they had just been plucked straight from a Botox commercial (note the lack of lines on their foreheads) and handed a towel and told to stand still. On many of the women's faces it appeared there was no other option--at least until the Botox wears off. The theme is also carried over to the Evista web site.