Viagra ads are just so much gibberish nowadays.

In Canada, Pfizer has a new TV campaign in which middle-aged men and women speak in a concocted language that’s unfamiliar except for one word - you guessed it.

“Viagra spanglecheff?” says one man to another. “Spanglecheff?” his friend asks. “Minky Viagra noni noni boo-boo plats!” the first man replies, with a knowing smile. The ad has this tag line: “The International Language of Viagra.”

Originally, when Viagra was launched, Pfizer execs spoke in serious tones about the tragedy of erectile dysfunction and serving an unmet medical need. In truth, the drugmaker has promoted the litte blue pill as a Saturday night special for any takers. This ad is only the latest example.

Maxine Thomas, an executive at Taxi, the agency in Toronto that produced the campaign, says the ads take advantage of Viagra’s name recognition. “It’s not as though we need to tell people what it does, because they already know,” she tells The New York Times. “Consumers can fill in the blank for themselves.”

Sid Wolfe of Public Citizen is having none of it: “In an ideal world, companies would have to sell drugs based on accurate and balanced information,” he snorts. “That doesn’t seem to work well enough, so instead of that they’re substituting gibberish.”

Whjupa Thiydid Yowbie! (Translation: Because Sex Sells!)

Source : The New York Times (registration required)[tags]Advertising, Pfizer, Viagra[/tags]