That Ticking Sound Is Just Another Dumb Promotion
5 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // July 8th, 2008 // 7:55 am
File this under not too bright. The ticking noise that brought a bomb squad to a Carmel Valley, California, medical building yesterday turned out to be a small battery in a greeting card that said ‘Your Time Is Up’ on the cover. And just who sent the greeting card? A pharmaceutical company promoting its products, a San Diego fire spokesman tells The San Diego Union-Tribune.
A receptionist at Children’s Medical Group office in a three-story building heard ticking coming from a mailbox in the hallway about 4 p.m. So she called 911 and security officers evacuated the building. The local bomb squad and a US Postal Service inspector were then called in. The greeting card was removed and opened, and the battery inside was found to have been damaged, the paper writes.
In the end, the fire department spokesman said the card was addressed to a doctor who no longer worked there. And, the paper adds, the Postal Inspector is supposed to contact the pharmaceutical company, which went unnamed, about its promotional efforts. So do you think this was just another example of poor judgment or a warning to a doc for not writing more scrips?
Kevin Gorey
You finished your article with “So do you think this was just another example of poor judgment or a warning to a doc for not writing more scrips?” Are you serious??? I generally like reading your commentary on many stories you cover especially since I was a pharma rep for 5+ years. But this is WAY OUT OF LINE! Are you seriously suggesting that pharma companies would send a “warning” representing a bomb to a physician’s office??? Many people would equate that to a terrorist action. My father taught me to “measure twice, cut once”. I recommend you “think twice, write once”.
Ed Silverman
Hi Kevin,
No, I wasn’t serious. I was being tongue in cheek, given that the entire situation seemed rather ridiculous, unfortunately. But apparently that wasn’t obvious. Sorry if I offended you.
Regards
ed
Lisa Van S
Kevin Gorey,
Maybe Eli Lilly should have thought twice when they decided to distribute Pen Knives with the Zyprexa Logo on them!!!
John Mack
I dub this unknown pharma company “PharmaUnabomber”! See A Novel Approach to Communicating with Physicians at http://pharmamkting.blogspot.com/2008/07/novel-approach-to-communicating-with.html
Ruth
Whenever I go into a doctor’s office anymore, I make it a point to disparage any gimmicks I see with pharma logos on them. If I had ever seen a Zyprexa penknife, trouble would have ensued.