It’s back-to-school night for Takeda execs, who ran an “especially concerning” 10-second Rozerem TV ad that appeared to target school kids.

The ad says: “Rozerem would like to remind you that it’s back to school season.” Then you see pictures of chalk boards, school books, a school bus, and kids with backpacks. And the ad suggests asking “your doctor if Rozerem is right for you.” The tagline: ‘Back To School.’

There’s just one problem: Rozerem was never approved for kids. Moreover, the ad didn’t qualify for reminder status and was never submitted to the FDA. So the agency dashed off a warning letter saying the ad should be pulled immediately.

The ad was pulled, but incredibly, a spokesman says no one at Takeda was responsible for putting this on TV. “To date our preliminary review of the situation indicates that no one internal to Takeda was involved in the approval, release or broadcast of the advertisement in question,” Matt Kuhn tells Bloomberg News. Not surprisingly, a spokeswoman for Takeda’s advertising agency, Cramer-Krasselt of Chicago, says no one could comment immediately on the commercial.

This is one step removed from dealing drugs near a school. Takeda president Mark Booth and sr marketing vp Andy Hull should be given detention. The lesson they need to learn: take responsbility for your ads and don’t promote an unapproved drug to kids. So boys, here’s your homework. Write 100 times: “I will personally approve every ad. I will personally approve every ad…”

[tags]Advertising, Rozerem, Sleeping Pills, Takeda Pharmaceuticals[/tags]