What Do Drug And Oil Companies Have In Common ?

[alisenjafi]

Does anyone else notice how similar the oil commercials are to the drug commercials? For those outside the US, they go on about ways they are trying not to have you use their product, as they know you have to.
Maybe the could save the money  on those  ads and cut cost on their products.
Cheers
Johnny- who never slept with an oil rigger or a pusher

[Joe K]

Hey Johnny,

Long time no post.  Good to see you back.  Actually, most drug companies spend more on marketing their drugs than they do for R&D.  Drug prices could probably fall by 40% if they'd stop wasting all that money.

[Ann]

Oh! Oh! Oh! I know the answer to this one... they're both in the top five largest industries in the world. In fact, I think pharma is number one and oil number two, but I'd have to go look that up and I can't be bothered right now. Maybe they use the same top ranking advertising agencies.

Something else they have in common besides adverts and industry rankings... They both have oodles and oodles of politicians in their pockets and in their beds.

I could go on but I think I better shut up now and go to bed like a good little virally enhanced person.

Ann

And what Joe said too. Pisses me off no end! The marketing thing, not Joe!

[alisenjafi]

Hi there Ann and Joe, Joe if you catch other ads on PBS be sure to pay attention to Boeing. You would think that that they would think of something better than show off al this war tech , including spy satelites. I want to know if Boeing spy ware is so great how come they didn't work over Iraq? While trying to find the link I found this instead, rather repugnant no-
Boeing Ethics Line: 1-888-970-7171.
Cheers
Johnny

[Cliff]

Oil companies only make those stupid, feel good commercials cause that's what the people want to see.  So it's probably the people that should be blamed and not the corporations.  Everyone loves to use oil and yet everyone hates oil (same with drugs).  So companies make those feel good commercials to help you feel good about using a product that you simultaneously hate.  The real solution is to just stop using oil (or cut back).  But that's too much to ask, so here we are.

Advertising increases revenues.  If it didn't companies wouldn't use it.  Because of that, if you stop advertising you don't necessarily lower drug prices (or oil prices), you simply lower revenues.  And some would argue that would actually increase prices, as companies would have less units to recover their other costs and would need to hike prices on the remaining unites purchased by consumers to do so.  I believe advertising is probably price-neutral.

[dario]

The answer is: greed and profit making.  In a way they are like vampires ...

The sad thing is that we need them!  Our life would be impossible without electricity and we would die without the medicines. 

I wish we could be closer to nature ... I mean that we do not need these complications.  But I guess that in the natural state only the strong survive and the weakly sick just die.  I wonder if friendly vampires exist.

[HIVworker]

Hurrah!

[alisenjafi]

Cliff you haven't been in the USA for a while lol.  These commercials ( the oil ones are almost all on PBS) are made because people are questioning the profits of both industries. Having seen the Chevron commercial, unlike the Beck's I am not jonesing for a quart. Both ads must come from the same agency, and like the MTA ads here are just plain insulting.  For you non NY'ers the subways are run by the MTA- for us it is as much part of us as our legs no need to advertise.
The drug ads ( I forgot which company) ,a so called researcher ( read actor) says how the best way to cure a disease is prevention. What we hiv'ers only know,

What is even funnier is PBS had a show tying BP with a lot of the problems in Central Asia with the pipeline, as well as a show on how oil companies with the gov't are getting over on the American taxpayer.

On another note  I think Ford is now offering to buy your gas for a year.  While I don't know the percentages, I see at least 15 car commercials in the morning as I surf the news. Basically in an hour. Next is a drug commercial usually for some allergy pill.
While ads might serve a purpose I think these are partially to make the companies themselves feel good and to offset their profits.

[BB]

My money, that's what!

BB