On a daily basis, drugs are advertised on television, magazines, commercials
and literature to grab the attention of potential consumers. Advertisement
for pharmaceutical drugs has become overwhelmingly popular among TV commercials,
disguising their effects with catchy jingles and colorful animations, drawings
the attention of a diverse audience. As teenagers read through magazines
suitable for their age groups, they are bombarded with 4-paged spreads on
a particular type of medication that is supposed to make their lives easier.
No one is spared. Children enjoy watching the commercial about the depressed
bouncing ball that suddenly becomes happy and gets a burst of energy after
taking a pill. Once their attention has grabbed a hold to these “gimmicks”,
they believe having these medications are a necessity. But no, it does not
stop there, music and novels are full of drug related positions that readers
and listeners find stimulating. Some musicians discuss how cool and popular
it makes them when they encounter illegal drugs. In books, authors write
about the different exciting situations they encounter because they are
high off drugs. Regardless of how it’s being exhibited, drugs, legit
or illegal, are still over advertised.
The asterisks in this section of the website represent any vulgar language that may have been excluded from the text because of its content.
“Man
this * right here the shizzle/ Smoking on the hottest drizzle/ Wanna taste
it just a little (Crime Mobb).” This is and excerpt form the
Hip Hop song “Rock Yo Hips” by Crime Mobb. Drugs have been
advertised through music for decades and by the looks of it, many more
are to come. Lyrics, such as the previously stated, are examples that
demonstrate how artists make it seem okay to take drugs. In the quote,
“drizzle” is another name for the drug substance marijuana.
The rapper says the drug is the “shizzle” (good), calls the
substance the “hottest drizzle” (nicest type of dro also known
as marijuana), and exclaims the reader would like to taste test it(“
wanna taste it just a little”). This is the type of music that
society listens to everyday. Whether in Rock and Roll, Hip Hop or Pop;
drugs are advertised as something normal and cool. Dr. Poes' insight (Click
Here to Listen) In the song “Hollywood” by rap artist
Jay-Z and female soloist Beyonce Knowles they compare Hollywood to drug
Heroine. “And everybody warning you about it (Try to told you)/
And once you taste you can't live without it (It's addictive)/
Not cause you choose to not live without it (Sure you want this baby)
/It's now a part of you (It's a part of you).” It is obvious
how the drug is similar to Hollywood business, but it doesn’t say
the business or the drug is bad for you. “It's like living on
heroine/ You so high (Jay-Z, Kingdom Come).” Music drug advertising
is not only displayed through urban music such as Rap and R&B, but
through Rock and Roll artist like (Tommy Lee and Kurt Cobain), Reggae
(by artist such as Bob Marley, Beenie Man, and Sean Paul), and other sounds
from around the world.
When
an image of children’s favorite music artist of movie star is seen
taking drugs, questions run through their heads. They wonder if the person
who they look up to is consuming such substances, is it right for them
too? Advertisement of drugs through images, especially if the image includes
a figure of power, could be very influential on the decisions that a fan
is liable to make. When viewed by the public’s eye, these images
seem like it is the right thing to do. Pictures of people having fun or
relaxing while they are “high” sends off just the message
it is trying to portray, it is okay. With these pictures, society locks
it in their head that smoking marijuana isn’t wrong or snorting
crack isn’t a problem. These images are subliminal. It enters people
minds to change their choices and alter their opinions. It looks right.
They think because they do it in the picture, then there is nothing wrong
with them injecting a needle into their arm.
Similar
to music, especially in urban novels, various authors choose to write
about the street pharmaceutical business. In most cases, it’s about
how a certain character who’s a drug dealer, in a relationship with
a drug dealer, or being dealt the drug. Usually the people who are dealing
the drugs are depicted as living very well (Blossom, Queen Pen). They
make a lot of money from selling drugs and are able to live a lavish life,
but in reality this is false idealism. Many drug dealers either face death
or incarceration but the novels give off a different vibe. As for being
a spouse of the drug dealer, it is portrayed as the next best thing to
Hollywood. It is depicted to be a fast life with a lot of money, and flawless
jewels. This again is not the case when it comes to reality. Lastly, for
the person who is addicted to the drug, the fate is never good. In actuality,
they usually end up in a bad condition or dead. This seems to be the only
case that seem to matches the “real world (B-More Careful, Shannon
Holmes). When writing to show how life is in a certain place, it should
act illustrate what really happens in reality.
When it comes to commercials for pharmaceutical drugs, they are taken
to the next level everyday.. Now that the numbers of drugs advertised
on television commercials has increased, pharmaceutical industries compete
to catch the audience’s attention first. Dr. Poes' insight (Click
Here to Listen) Sing-a-long, jingles, and bright colors have all become
ingredients for the perfect drug commercials. These commercials gather
a wide range of audience, from toddlers to adults. Almost everyone knows
the song playing in the background of the Celebrex commercial; And who
can forget the “It a Beautiful Morning” song from the Vioxx
commercial. The smallest things such as the “perfect song”
pull more and more viewers while increasing their potential earnings at
the same time. As children sit and watches TV, some of them anticipate
the next time they’re going to see the “show with the sad
bouncing ball that eats the piece of candy and is happy again” (http://www.newstarget.com/010315.html).
This type of plot would seem as if it is the new outline of a new children’s
movie when actually it’s the commercial for anti-depressant pills.
Commercials such as the Zoloft commercial (Click
Here to Watch) bring in an annual compounded rate of approximately
30% because of how fast it is able to generate an audience.
When these commercials are viewed by society, they start to believe it
is okay to consume the drugs being displayed in the commercials. It is
just another way to increase their annual income. Besides the animation
and catchy tones, medication commercials also include bright colors in
their concoction of the perfect commercial. This is the most eye appealing
part of the commercial. When there is a various amount of colors flashing
on and off the television screen, the viewer then becomes accustomed to
the colors. At times, they may even use warm colors to make it seem like
they are apart of you, your household, and your life. Drug commercials
are a type of subliminal messaging. The colors draw in their intended
audience, the “jingle” keeps the audience interested and the
animation draws the attention of children. Regardless of which drug is
being advertised, all of them send the same message, “You Need Me!”