PharmaPorning and TagLineShilling

Want to increase your blog traffic by 50%? That's the result Insider -- aka Jack Friday -- at PharmaGossip saw after he posted a link to the nude photo of Playboy model and Sanofi drug rep Cameron Haven doing her dirty laundry in Florida.

Of course, I was one of those men -- and probably a few women -- who dutifully exited the PharmaGossip site within a millisecond and followed the link to the XXX-rated photo on a Playboy site.

The non-XXX rated photo posted to PharmaGossip is shown on the left. "Much, much more of Cameron doing her laundry can be seen here!", said Insider.

I followed the link and I kept THAT page open for a few hours during the day. Now THAT'S what I call a "sticky" site; PharmaGossip, not so much.

Insider considered this such a boost that he posted some more links to photos of the model/cum sales rep. But this latest batch took too long to load to satisfy my need for instant gratification.

Of course, he who lives in glass houses should not throw rocks. I have posted on Pharma Marketing Blog images of women sales reps who are also models or cheerleaders (see "Sexy Reps Sell Rx") and have even shown bare breasts once or twice. Of course, I have also balanced that with images of men and penises (see "Pfizer's Erection Hardness Meter" and "Introducing...the All-Pharma Lobbying Lineup!"). Aside from the penis image, however, none could be said to be rated XXX. Also, I only use these images to make a serious point about pharmaceutical marketing, not just to appeal to my readers' prurient interests.

On another issue, I notice that Peter Rost over at BrandweekNRx and its mirror blog Question Authority has started shilling sponsors' wares by writing whole posts devoted to sales pitches. See, for example, "Buy an amazing tagline - Where Good Health is a Click Away."

"'Where Good Health is a Click Away' is an exceptionally solid, timeless, powerful and elegant tagline," said Rost. "If you are a worthy individual or company, a true fit for this tagline and have the big bucks to buy it, then don't delay!"

Peter, as always, is breaking new ground and paving the way for us bloggers to make more profits!

Now we all have to make a living and many of us bloggers run ads on our blogs and even "feature" our advertisers in blog posts and get paid to do it. Rost, at least, has been upfront about the fact that the tag line owner, Robert Goldman of Portland, Maine is "the current BrandweekNRx blog sponsor."

But this is the first time I've seen an editor of a blog actually personally endorse a sponsor's product in the editorial section of a blog, which is something that I try to avoid doing.

I suspect that Peter is under extraordinary pressure from Brandweek to show some return on investment. Recall back in January 2007 that Todd Wasserman, BrandWeek’s editor said of Peter: "We let him go in December because of lack of advertising, but are bringing him back in January even (though) we don't have ads to support him - yet" (see "Riddarhuseter Rost Re-establishes Roost at Brandweek's NRx").

I don't know if the "tagline for sale" post will convince Wasserman to keep Rost or not. Probably, he'll have to see several other such posts and a positive measurable payoff to make his decision.

I wonder how much it cost to be a sponsor of BrandweekNRx and get my own endorsement from Peter? Should I pay anything? After all, Peter has often said good things (and not so good things) about me and I have reciprocated. But to pay him to say ONLY good things about me and urge people to buy my stuff would give me such a sense of POWER OVER PETER that I am very tempted to try it! (Hey, numnuts! Just kiddin'!)

'Round the Sphere: Mandatory Gardasil Vaccination Politics Make Strange Bedfellows

Are you for or against mandatory vaccination of school girls with Gardasil? Are you afraid to be against it and thus painted as a right-wing religious conservative!

There have been several posts within the Pharma Blogosphere today on this issue.

First up is PharmaGossip's post "Merck - Gardasil: fatal side effects?," which suggests a hint of doubt about the veracity or scientific merit of a report from "US public interest group" Judicial Watch regarding the release of documents that link Gardasil to as many as 11 deaths since its approval in the market. I only note that Jack Friday does not identify this group as a "conservative, non-partisan educational foundation."

Compared to Jack Friday, Ed Silverman over at Pharmalot is a flaming liberal -- at least when measured by his slant on this story. In his post, "Gardasil: Conservative Group Trumpets Side Effects", Ed starts right off questioning the mission of Judicial Watch by use of the phrase "bills itself as a conservative public interest group that 'advocates high standards of ethics and morality in our nation’s public life,'"

"This is, essentially, another front in the battle against Gardasil. By issuing such press releases, Judicial Watch not only caters to its core constituency - social conservatives who worry the HPV vaccine will be seen as a green light to premarital sex among teenagers - but also plays on the concerns of parents who are undecided whether to vaccine adolescent girls (Gardasil isn’t yet approved for teenage boys) and question mandated vaccination."

Ed thus categorizes opinions about mandatory vaccination as a battle front with religious conservatives on one side and everyone else on the other.

May I dare say that it is not as black and white as that?

In my post to Pharma Marketing Blog, "Gardasil: Is the Risk of Being "One Less" Worth It?," I see the evidence presented by Judicial Watch as a test case of the new pharmaceutical industry "balance benefits vs. risks" mantra.

After all, even Big Pharma CEOs like Lilly's Sidney Taurel are calling for better systems to "quickly identify both the true benefits and the full extent of risks associated with medicines in widespread use."

Presumably, physicians in consultation with patients represent the best way to determine whether a drug or vaccine is right for a particular patient based upon known risks vs. expected benefits. If Gardasil vaccination is mandatory, that kind of conversation with the physician is not an option. This goes against every liberal notion of "patient empowerment."

Therefore, I propose "patient empowerment" as the liberal battle cry and battle front against mandatory Gardasil vaccination!

BTW, I argued this point with the former blogger in charge at NRx before he left for journalism school. As of this writing, the current author of NRx has not written about this issue, but has instead posted important information about how easy it is to read gibberish and a YouTube video that is no longer available! Just so you know where the priorities are.

Jack Friday on Holiday -- in Cannes?

Jack Friday of PharmaGossip fame is taking a "Long Weekend" and from what I see posted on his site, it involves flying somewhere.

Could it be Cannes to view Michael Moore's new documentary SiCKO?

Inquiring minds want to know.

'Round the Sphere: The Pink Cupcake Caper, Dollars for Docs, BIO Queen Noir, and Other Insults

Peter Rost keeps milking that AZ newsletter, bringing to the fore two new issues for us Pharma Blogosphere^TM denizens to mash up.

First up is the "Pink Cupcake Caper," which led to some comments published by Christiane Truelove, which raised fur on Black Kitty (BK), which sounded like a "Kitty Fight" to me, who lost more face over the resulting brouhaha.

Lesson: No one should speak for patients as to what is or is not appropriate gifts. It also raises the question that I posed over at Pharma Marketing Blog: should the drug industry develop guidelines for gifts to patients similar to guidelines for gifts to physicians? (see "Guidelines for Gifts to Patients").

However, I was glad to raise the issue of sexism amongst a few of us male bloggers in this arena, which I hope the women focus on rather than my provocative "Kitty Fight" blog post, which is a red herring.

BTW, have you voted in the "most sexist male blogger" poll yet? Voter turnout is light so far, but I see that Peter Rost leads with 27% of the votes, Jack Friday follows with 18%, and I trail with 9%. Of course, a plurality (45%) think we should grow up already! See the poll in the sidebar on the right.

Doctor Bags of Money
Peter, of course, brought us the "Buckets of Money" that sales reps can dip their hands into when calling on doctors. But did you know that many docs reap "Bags of Money" as paid drug industry consultants?

Peter exposes one such doctor that may have been paid as much as $204,000 in 2006 by Astrazeneca (see the Dr. Freedland Fee Fest post by Peter here).

My take on this: Hey! Pharma! Are you going to report these fees now that you are beginning to be more transparent about educational grants? Should these fees be reported? Let me know what you think by taking the poll here.

Queen Noir
Oh well, if sexism doesn't get your blood roiling, how about a Jordanian queen barring the press from her BIO keynote speech. This angered -- and rightly so -- Ed Silverman over at Pharmalot who wondered if BIO was taking place in the Middle East or America (see "BIO: Is This Boston, Or The Mideast?").

It is a BIO PR faux pas -- Americans are dying every day supposedly to make the Middle East more democratic, while our freedoms are being whittled away here at home. I say bullshit to that and throw the Queen Noir out-a-here! (as in the great NYC sense of the term "Throw da bum out!").

P.S. Now that the French have elected a conservative leader, I feel it is now politically correct to pepper my post with French phrases.