Bye to a Favorite Commercial

One of my favorite commercials has been taken off the air. It was the Levitra commercial. I usually saw it during dinner as I was watching the evening news. Having that gal grope, stroke, pat, caress, and otherwise fondle “My Man” as I was shoveling down food made for the perfect culinary experience. Not.

The news article describing the removal said in essence that the ad exaggerated the potency—my word—of the drug and did not warn of all the side effects. The side effects were not discussed in detail, but based on the ad there seems to be one that has long intrigued me. A New York Times columnist noted it a few months ago.

In the ad, “My Man” never says anything. He simply accepts all the attention with a goofy grin on his face. The NYT columnist hypothesized that the drug renders the taker mute. He may be a sex machine of the first order, but he has lost all ability to communicate verbally. Of course, the gal doesn’t seem to mind. To take a little liberty with the song, she’s as horny as Kansas in August. Anyway, she seems perfectly happy with a man who communicates only in the physical realm. Now, how real is that? And why wasn’t I so lucky back when it matter?

The placement of this ad and ones for similar products in the evening news programs of the major networks has puzzled me. For one thing, even assuming that the only group watching network evening news is composed of us graying boomers and our doddering parents, how many of us really want this in-your-face-reminder of nature’s inevitable progression? And just after we’ve seen the latest slaughter in the Middle East? Please, I’m trying to eat.

Also puzzling is why these ads have not attracted the wrath of social conservatives. Oh sure, there has been some grumbling. But can you imagine the outcry if birth control products were advertised in a similar manner? My theory is that the widespread need for the product trumps any qualms about the advertising. Plus, the social conservatives’ culture of life is not just about being pro-life and anti-death but also about not letting nature take its course. Nature tries to reduce the sexual appetite, but the culture of life crowd says: “No way. Give me whatever is necessary to make the equipment work. To keep me alive, ram a tube down my throat. To keep me sowing the seeds of righteousness, give me a pill.”

Anyway, it’s just a theory.

Advertising erectile dysfunction products on prime time TV presents an interesting quandary. On one hand, a government ban on such advertising would remove something about which most people are probably at best squeamish. On the other hand, a government ban itself is a cause for squeamishness. This is one of those situations in which you wish a few Madison Avenue advertising executives and drug company bigwigs could exercise a little restraint. I just want to watch the slaughters on the evening news in peace.

DSH