"Talking Loogie" and Other DTC Critters Walk Out!
NEW YORK, New York (PMB) -- The Critters that appear in many direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug ads will go on strike early Tuesday after their negotiating team recommended a walkout over royalties that could immediately pinch primetime news shows that depend on the ads for revenue.
The DTC Critters Guild of America (DTC-CGA) board voted unanimously to strike as of 12:01 a.m. Monday (3:01 a.m. ET), officials said.
The walkout will be the first in 10 years since the FDA loosened DTC regulations.
The labor impasse is over royalties from use of DTC in alternative media such as blogs, podcasts, web boards, YouTube -- all the various places their works are now distributed, including Internet downloads.
For the full story, including insights from Mr. Mucinex, Beaver, Stippy the Turd, and Honest Abe, see today's post to Pharma Marketing Blog.
In a related story, the WSJ Health Blog reports that Mr. Mucinex is worth $2.3 billion to Reckitt Benckiser, the company that hires him to appear in the Mucinex DTC ads (see "How a Talking Loogie Landed a Multi-Billion Dollar Deal").
4 comments:
Mack catches Satire bug.
Giles quits in envy.
Heaven forbid!
In related news, Mr. Mucus has decided to take on his most challenging role yet, starring in a full length animated film for children.
‘Mr. Mucus isn’t always the bad guy,’ said Robert De Niro who provides the voice for Mr. Mucus. ‘Mucus is an important part of your body’s defense system. Mucus can also help transport and remove inhaled particles that become trapped in your air passageways. But sometimes things can change, like when you get a cold.'
Mr. Mucus isn’t the only animated ailment looking to make the transition from your living room television to the silver screen; Lamasil’s ‘Digger Nail Fungus Infection’ is also intending to make the transition.
‘It’s a brilliant move by these powerful pharmaceutical companies,’ said Jason Morris of Filmweekly.com. ‘They’re already using computer animation for their commercials. It’s only natural for them to transition onto the big screen. Now they’ll basically have a two-hour commercial for their pharmaceutical products. They’ll also teach a whole new generation that the only way to live a good life is by taking prescribed medications.’
Good luck to Mr. Mucus and Digger!
We all know how tough it can be for actors to transition from TV to the big screen!
With ads for the US Army Reserve and Coca Cola now appearing before the previews at movie theatres, some day we are likely to see our Rx Critters on the big screen as well -- just not acting in the feature presentation!
The only problem with that is the demographics of the typical movie goer -- not nearly old enough to target for DTC ads.
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