Call it a game. Call it a contest. Call it a war! On one side you have the champions of the people, the white knights at the FDA whose job it is to protect consumers from the pharmaceutical industry’s worst excesses. On the other side are ranged the best brains in the marketing and advertising industries. Their job is to get the message “out there”. If that means bending a few rules, well, that’s all in the game, contest or war. So let’s start with a minor point. How come the FDA allows Big Pharma to run direct marketing campaigns? Most other countries only allow product advertising to be aimed at the medical profession. The theory is that doctors are better placed than consumers to judge when it is safe and appropriate to take a particular drug. Well, the FDA thinks that creating brand awareness includes direct advertising but, to protect the consumers, each ad must include a list of possible side effects. This compromise is a type of poison pill to Big Pharma which has to tell people how good their latest tablet is, but then list all the problem side effects. So this September has seen a “brand” new campaign for Ambien. Sanofi-Aventis has been running a series of so-called disease-awareness ads. In this case, there’s a mention of insomnia or general problems in sleeping, but no mention of any particular drug. The feature of each ad is a reference to SilenceYourRooster.com. People who go to the site find it promoting Ambien where there’s a page that lists the side effects. There are a number of advantages to this type of campaign called “unbranded product advertising”. The point is educational. People need to become better informed about diseases and disorders. In turn, this stimulates an interest in the treatments available. Thus, curiosity drives the consumer to follow the line of crumbs to discover which medication is recommended. Because each consumer invests time and effort in acquiring the information, he or she “owns” this information and is more likely to act on it. Passively watching ads is less likely to trigger a “buy” impulse. Even more importantly, advertisers can make their impact in a shorter time. When TV slots are so expensive, being able to get a short message across without all the negative side effects makes the campaign highly cost-effective. So the next time you see a rooster, think Ambien just to prove the advertisers are right.