The Cool Pill

I went to see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (sidebar: pretty good movie despite Johnny Depp’s frightening resemblance to Micheal Jackson) and while heading into the theatre I noticed an ad on the wall. It looked like the poster for an action movie, the kind meant to bring in the 16-35 male demographic due to a cast of young, attractive women but that was definitely NOT who the ad was targeting. It was actually an ad for Alesse, the birth control pill.

Maybe it’s just be, but lately I’ve noticed a change in the way birth control is advertised, Alesse being at the head of the pack. If I recall correctly, it wasn’t so long ago that print and television ads for these products focused on effectiveness, ease of use and perhaps, how good they were at preventing acne. Basically, the standard ‘informative’ ad, list the products attributes, ad fine print explaining the draw backs and off you go.

I’m sure it has something to do with the increase in available options but it seems that sticking to raw information is no longer enough. Branding has become increasingly important. So now, it seems, we should be worried about using the cool pill, the one with the correct brand image. Disturbing thought to say the least. Call me naïve but I kinda thought that with at least a few products, the logo wasn’t important. I should have known better.

They needn’t stop at the commercials and ads though with all those happy looking girls proudly announcing “I’m on Alesse,” why not go one further and market the patch with cool designs and cartoon characters. You know it’s just a matter of time.

If anyone should happen to come across an image of this or a similar ad, please do send it to me.