Manic's Little Helper
It has to be one of the best, most provocative, uses of placement marketing – or placement advertising – I have ever seen.
You know about placement marketing, right? That’s where advertisers place their ads in places where they already have high market penetration.
Like when advertisers put up Kool cigarette or Schlitz Malt Liquor ads in predominately black neighborhoods.
Or Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn billboards at the gateways to vast suburban home tracts.
I had to go back, twice, to my Safeway grocery store to see for my own eyes.
The four ads for the schizophrenia and bipolar medication Abilify (aripiprazole) on the store’s two pay telephones.
This Safeway sits across the street from City Park, which just happens to corral the largest concentration of the city’s homeless population (the rescue mission is two blocks south).
Coincidence?
I think not.
Fully one-third of the homeless in the United States are mentally ill; U.S. Census Bureau estimates put the number of mentally ill homeless in California at 50,000.
A pay telephone outside a grocery store is the perfect place to plaster schizophrenia and bipolar medication ads.
Except the ads have too many words to be effective to the target audience.
They also show a well-dressed woman standing in a field of flowers looking toward a path that meanders into the distance. Please.
You really want to capture the market (and trust me, I’ve worked in advertising), the idea is focus, focus, focus on the message:
“Got shit and piss in your pants right now?”
“Tiny voices telling you things?”
“Anti-social to the point of screaming on the street corners?”
TRY ABILIFY!
OK, I’ve just made fun of mentally ill people.
Express elevator to Hell? I think so.
But how do you explain the placement? I’m just keeping it real, here.
Speaking of real, I always love the safety warnings for medications (why do we insist on ingesting anything made by the giant pharmaceutical companies?):
“IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION and INDICATIONS for ABILIFY (aripiprazole) INDICATIONS: ABILIFY (aripiprazole) is indicated for the treatment of Acute manic and mixed episodes associated with Bipolar I Disorder; maintaining efficacy in patients with Bipolar I Disorder with a recent manic or mixed episode who had been stabilized and then maintained for at least 6 weeks.
“Elderly patients, diagnosed with psychosis as a result of dementia (for example, an inability to perform daily activities as a result of increased memory loss), and who are treated with atypical antipsychotic medicines including ABILIFY, are at an increased risk of death when compared to patients who are treated with a placebo (sugar pill). ABILIFY is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis.
“Serious side effects can occur with any antipsychotic medicine, including ABILIFY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any conditions or side effects, including the following:
“Very high fever, rigid muscles, shaking, confusion, sweating, or increased heart rate and blood pressure. These may be signs of a condition called neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a rare but serious side effect which could be fatal; Abnormal or uncontrollable movements. These may be signs of a serious condition called tardive dyskinesia, which may be permanent; elderly: An increased risk of stroke and ministroke has been reported in a clinical study of elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis; Diabetes, risk factors for diabetes (for example, obesity, family history of diabetes), or unexpected increases in thirst, urination, or hunger. Increases in blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia), in some cases serious and associated with coma or death, have been reported in patients taking medicines like ABILIFY. Ask your healthcare provider about the need to monitor your blood sugar level before and during treatment.
“Lightheadedness or faintness caused by a sudden change in heart rate and blood pressure when rising quickly from a sitting or lying position (orthostatic hypotension) has been reported with ABILIFY. Medicines like ABILIFY can affect your judgment, thinking, or motor skills. You should not drive or operate hazardous machinery until you know how ABILIFY affects you.
“Since medicines like ABILIFY can impact your body's ability to reduce body temperature, you should avoid overheating and dehydration.
“Medicines like ABILIFY have been associated with swallowing problems (dysphagia). If you had or have swallowing problems, you should tell your healthcare provider.
“If you have suicidal thoughts, you should tell your healthcare provider right away.
While taking ABILIFY, avoid drinking alcohol and breast-feeding an infant.”
Good to know.
Yikes.
You know about placement marketing, right? That’s where advertisers place their ads in places where they already have high market penetration.
Like when advertisers put up Kool cigarette or Schlitz Malt Liquor ads in predominately black neighborhoods.
Or Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn billboards at the gateways to vast suburban home tracts.
I had to go back, twice, to my Safeway grocery store to see for my own eyes.
The four ads for the schizophrenia and bipolar medication Abilify (aripiprazole) on the store’s two pay telephones.
This Safeway sits across the street from City Park, which just happens to corral the largest concentration of the city’s homeless population (the rescue mission is two blocks south).
Coincidence?
I think not.
Fully one-third of the homeless in the United States are mentally ill; U.S. Census Bureau estimates put the number of mentally ill homeless in California at 50,000.
A pay telephone outside a grocery store is the perfect place to plaster schizophrenia and bipolar medication ads.
Except the ads have too many words to be effective to the target audience.
They also show a well-dressed woman standing in a field of flowers looking toward a path that meanders into the distance. Please.
You really want to capture the market (and trust me, I’ve worked in advertising), the idea is focus, focus, focus on the message:
“Got shit and piss in your pants right now?”
“Tiny voices telling you things?”
“Anti-social to the point of screaming on the street corners?”
TRY ABILIFY!
OK, I’ve just made fun of mentally ill people.
Express elevator to Hell? I think so.
But how do you explain the placement? I’m just keeping it real, here.
Speaking of real, I always love the safety warnings for medications (why do we insist on ingesting anything made by the giant pharmaceutical companies?):
“IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION and INDICATIONS for ABILIFY (aripiprazole) INDICATIONS: ABILIFY (aripiprazole) is indicated for the treatment of Acute manic and mixed episodes associated with Bipolar I Disorder; maintaining efficacy in patients with Bipolar I Disorder with a recent manic or mixed episode who had been stabilized and then maintained for at least 6 weeks.
“Elderly patients, diagnosed with psychosis as a result of dementia (for example, an inability to perform daily activities as a result of increased memory loss), and who are treated with atypical antipsychotic medicines including ABILIFY, are at an increased risk of death when compared to patients who are treated with a placebo (sugar pill). ABILIFY is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis.
“Serious side effects can occur with any antipsychotic medicine, including ABILIFY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any conditions or side effects, including the following:
“Very high fever, rigid muscles, shaking, confusion, sweating, or increased heart rate and blood pressure. These may be signs of a condition called neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a rare but serious side effect which could be fatal; Abnormal or uncontrollable movements. These may be signs of a serious condition called tardive dyskinesia, which may be permanent; elderly: An increased risk of stroke and ministroke has been reported in a clinical study of elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis; Diabetes, risk factors for diabetes (for example, obesity, family history of diabetes), or unexpected increases in thirst, urination, or hunger. Increases in blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia), in some cases serious and associated with coma or death, have been reported in patients taking medicines like ABILIFY. Ask your healthcare provider about the need to monitor your blood sugar level before and during treatment.
“Lightheadedness or faintness caused by a sudden change in heart rate and blood pressure when rising quickly from a sitting or lying position (orthostatic hypotension) has been reported with ABILIFY. Medicines like ABILIFY can affect your judgment, thinking, or motor skills. You should not drive or operate hazardous machinery until you know how ABILIFY affects you.
“Since medicines like ABILIFY can impact your body's ability to reduce body temperature, you should avoid overheating and dehydration.
“Medicines like ABILIFY have been associated with swallowing problems (dysphagia). If you had or have swallowing problems, you should tell your healthcare provider.
“If you have suicidal thoughts, you should tell your healthcare provider right away.
While taking ABILIFY, avoid drinking alcohol and breast-feeding an infant.”
Good to know.
Yikes.
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