Moore, You Magnificent Bastard! I Read Your "Book!" But Did You?

Michael Moore is giving PR lessons to would-be promoters of screenings of his new movie SiCKO. See his "Sponsor a 'SiCKO' Screening" Web page.

Here's one bit of advice offered there about "HOW TO GET PRESS":

When the press arrives at the event, make sure one person on your team greets each reporter and remains available for their requests.

Makes sense.

But let's compare this to how I was treated at my screening of SiCKO a couple of weeks ago in NYC (see "John Mack Finally Gets His SiCKO Screening: You Can Too!").

When I arrive, there is one person who merely checks my name off a list and hands me a couple of sheets of info. After the screening, when I would likely have a number of questions -- including "Where's the bathroom?" -- there's nobody there! I have to ask the projectionist who was startled that anyone would walk into the projection both and actually speak to him! In any case, he did give me the key code to the men's room.

I must say, I was impressed! NOT!

But I wrote the story anyway and you can read it in the June issue of Pharma Marketing News (subscription required; it's FREE!).

SiCKO Sneak Previews This Weekend!

Want to see SiCKO before its official release? Here's the 411 straight from Moore:

Friends,

Would you like to go to a sneak preview of my new film, "Sicko," before it opens on June 29th? Well, if you live anywhere near the 32 cities listed below, this Saturday night, June 23rd, our movie studio is going to hold sneak screenings of "Sicko" in 43 theaters across the country. I'd love for you to be one of the first to see it so, if you'd like, you can click here and order tickets now. We'd love to see you there.

Also, if you live in the New York City area we are opening the film tomorrow (Friday, June 22) exclusively at one theater, the AMC Lincoln Square for a first week run. The interest in the film is very high and theaters have been asking us to open it as soon as possible. Alright, already! It opens tomorrow in NYC, the sneak previews are Saturday around the country, and we open nationwide next Friday, the 29th.

Last night we screened "Sicko" for the members of Congress and the Senate in Washington, D.C. Earlier in the day we testified during a briefing in Congress called by the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, Jr. I brought with me some of the people who appear in the film to tell their stories -- and it was a powerful moment.

I will write again next week, before "Sicko" opens nationwide on the 29th. I'm so excited, after spending the last couple of years working on this film, that you all will finally be able to see it.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Catch the sneak preview of "Sicko" in these cities this Saturday night, June 23rd:

Phoenix, AZ
Sacramento, CA
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Denver, CO
Washington, D.C.
Miami, FL
Tampa - St. Petersburg, FL
Atlanta, GA
Chicago, IL
Indianapolis, IN
Kansas City, KS
Baltimore, MD
Boston, MA
Detroit, MI
Flint, MI
Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN
St. Louis, MO
Las Vegas, NV
Albuquerque, NM
Albany, NY
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Portland, OR
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Austin, TX
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
Seattle, WA
Tacoma, WA
Milwaukee, WI

Order tickets online here.

Lobbyists Also Get No Popcorn at Their Screening of SiCKO

Michael Moore invited 900 healthcare lobbyists to a special screening of SiCKO in Washington, DC and only 11 showed up.

Could it be because SiCKO screenings don't include popcorn, soda, or even bottled water?

Said John Greene of the National Association of Health Underwriters: "I want to ask Mr. Moore, 'Where's the popcorn and soda?'" (See Washington Post article.)

I asked the same question when I attended a screening of SiCKO in NYC on June 7 (see "SiCKO is Boffo but Not Anti-Pharmaco, per se").

Could it be that the pharma lobbyists read my review and decided that a movie without food was as useful as a fish without a bicycle?

Wonks LOL YouTube Effort!

Turns out that Drug Wonks are not even very good PR Wonks.

Here's their latest YouTube video effort to discredit Michael Moore. They ask people on the street (in a park, actually) "Would you trust your healthcare to Michael Moore?"

Well, no! Duh!

What's funny about this is, at one point, they ask the question of some guy sitting in a tree! Like that's the kind of person whose opinion I should listen to!

Wonks Bitch Slap Jim Edwards: Are We Going to Let Them Get Away with It?

Yesterday I mentioned Jim Edwards' post regarding Drug Wonks Demonization of Michael Moore. Jim used his personal experience to get an MRI as support for his thesis that the Wonks' cause is lost.

Now chief bully wonker Robert Goldberg is trying to sling mud at Jim and the rest of bloggers who share his view with insults like this:

"For the record, drugwonks aims to be the truth dectector [sic; LOL] for Moore's propaganda film Sicko. That is the least we can do for thos (sic) Kool-Aid drinking bloggers who blindly follow a guy who denied health care coverage to his employees when he was producer of TV nation."

Let's see. TV Nation was produced when? Is this relevant now? Should we listen to anyone who cannot even use a spell checker!

"Now some have nothing better to do than price MRIs."

"Oh, and the MRI? Use it to a conduct a more careful analysis of your own sloppy arguments in defense of hypocritical and overweight directors."

Goldberg is a coward! He won't dare say that to Jim's face by naming him in his blog! or at least linking to Jim's post.

No, Drug Wonks never links out to the "enemy" Kool-Aid drinking bloggers!

Cowards! PR Wonks!

I note that all the invective aimed at Moore and his movie is based on what the Wonks have seen in movie trailers and on Oprah. They don't have the nerve to see the film they are criticizing and must constantly stoop to calling people names!

Cowards! PR Wankers!

PhRMA Jumps on Michael Moore's Bandwagon to Tout It's Own Programs!

Poor PhRMA -- that great pharmaceutical trade association, which fights a never ending battle for believability, justice for pharmaceutical companies, and the PhRMA way! -- it so desperately needed Michael Moore to focus on the industry in his new film SiCKO that when Moore declined to take the bait (see "SiCKO is Boffo but Not Anti-Pharmaco, per se"), PhRMA is left without a whipping boy!

But that hasn't stopped PhRMA Exec VP Ken Johnson from making hay without a pitch fork as it were.

Take a look at PhRMA's "Statement on Michael Moore’s Documentary". As far as commentary on the documentary, this is just a rehash of what Ken has been saying for months, nay, years!

He starts out nicely enough with faint praise that raises our hopes for the ultimate put down sure to follow:

"Michael Moore is a very talented filmmaker, but a review of America’s health care system should be balanced, thoughtful and well-researched to pin down what works and what needs to be improved. Unfortunately, you won’t get that from Michael Moore."

Great! What's your argument in support of this accusation?

Sadly, Ken just uses that as an introduction to PhRMA's own propaganda about SCHIP and PPA. Ken laments the fact that Moore didn't even mention these programs in his movie! Boo hoo! And he also didn't mention my blog, but you don't see me crying!

Ken should have critiqued the "facts" that were actually presented in the movie rather than cry over the facts that were not included. After all, Ken did have a Hollywood "friend" give him some "pretty good blow (by blow)" (see that story here).

'Round the Sphere: SiCKO Spies, Panama Hats, Blog Burnout

Peter Rost -- one of the biggest stars in the Pharma Blogosphere firmament -- promises to make panama hats popular again! See his post here.

It appears, however, that these hats are already popular amongst Chippendale male dancers -- that's one shown on the left (not Dr. Rost!).

The issue of panama hats arose after Rost showed up last week in sunglasses and a panama hat for a friendly lunch with Jim Edwards of BrandweekNRX. They met at a trendy Italian restaurant in Milburn, NJ, if such a thing is possible (not that I have anything against NJ; some of my best friends live and fish in NJ; please, no comments accusing me of being an anti-Jerseyite!).

Bigger news came out of that meeting than what kind of hat men should wear. It appears that I soon won't have Jim to kick around anymore on the issue of mandatory Gardasil inoculations -- a topic we tussled over some time ago.

Jim announced he is leaving Brandweek in August to become a Knight Bagehot fellow at Columbia. This "sweet deal" includes full tuition and a living stipend of $50,000.

Good luck Jim!

On another front, Derek Lowe, an Arkansan by birth and blogger extraordinaire at In the Pipeline, announced that he will be moving to Boston for a new job! Derek would like to hear from readers with personal experience with the towns, schools (and roads!) of that part of Massachusetts.

It's obvious, although not mentioned by Derek, that after June, when he starts his new job, he may have little time to devote to blogging. And thus another shining star in the Pharma Blogosphere may dim. Good luck to Derek as well!

We Lose 40% of the Top-Rated Bloggers!
Thus 2 of the 5 "top rated" blogs in the Pharma Blogosphere, which includes In the Pipeline, Pharmalot, BrandweekNRX, PharmaGossip, and Pharma Marketing Blog (see "Survey Finds Blogs Critical of Drug Industry Are Most Credible"), will soon fade to black.

So, within the last 6 months we saw an explosion of new entrants into the Pharma Blogosphere and now somewhat of a collapse.

That's the way things are.

SiCKO PhRMA Spygate!
Meanwhile, life -- such as it is -- in the Pharma Blogosphere trundles on.

We've seen "Buckets of Cash" ZubeGate and AstraZeneca's Cupcake Capers. Now a new controversy is brewing involving Michael Moore's movie SiCKO, PhRMA, and a mysterious movie mogul "friend" of PhRMA's executive VP.

I first reported on this in Pharma Marketing Blog: "PhRMA Sent SiCKO Spy to Cannes".

Subsequent to that, Ed Silverman at Pharmalot received a phone call from Ken Johnson -- the PhRMA VP in question -- who claimed that a hollywood "friend" just happened to be in Cannes at the opening of SiCKO and gave Ken "some pretty good blow...", err, I mean "blow-by-blow" (see "PhRMA: We Didn’t Send A Spy To Cannes!").

What Ken failed to mention, however, was the role played by a certain PhRMA Intern in soliciting this favor from a Hollywood movie mogul -- see tomorrow's post to Pharma Marketing Blog for the full story of this exciting Spy-vs-SiCKO sitcom!

BTW, you can read a review of SiCKO by the only pharma blogger to actually see the entire movie here!

John Mack Finally Gets His SiCKO Screening: You Can Too!

While the pharmaceutical industry is part of Michael Moore's -- and many other people's -- "Axis of Evil" consisting of pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and insurance companies, he does cut the industry some slack in his new movie "SiCKO," which I saw yesterday at a special screening in New York City. Pharma is merely a "necessary evil," whereas insurance companies are just not necessary at all -- at least the for-profit insurance industry.

For more of my review of the movie SiCKO, see "SiCKO is Boffo but Not Anti-Pharmaco, per se".

For my fellow bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere who haven't seen the movie yet, but wish to do so, I suggest they contact Sara Finmann Serlen (in NYC) at 646-862-3812, sara.serlen@weinsteinco.com and ask her for an invite to the one of the next screening in NY, which I believe is June 11 and June15. If you are locate elsewhere, ask her who to call for a screening near you.

If you read my review, you'll see why I believe that pharma bloggers may not be high priority PR targets for the producers. But, hey, it's worth a shot.

I'm Off to SiCKO Screening in NYC!

Finally! I received an invitation from the producers of SiCKO to a press screening of Michael Moore's documentary! The screening is today in New York City. I am leaving right now!

I'm not sure who else from the Pharma Blogosphere^TM has been invited. I guess I'll find out when I get there.

Hopefully, if all goes well, I will have some photos and a report tomorrow.

See my review here.

Pre-Release Screenings of SiCKO for Bloggers

I don't know about you, but unlike the folks over at Drug Wonks and PhRMA (Ken Johnson said: "A review of America's healthcare system should be balanced, thoughtful, and well-researched to pin down what works and what needs to be improved. You won't get that from Michael Moore."), I refuse to criticize or praise something I have not seen. It was that way with Centocor's feature-length disease awareness film INNERSTATE (see "Innerstate Private Screening: Philadelphia Style") and I feel the same about Michale Moore's new film SiCKO.

So, on May 17, I wrote an open letter to Michael Moore on behalf of all pharma bloggers encouraging him to invite us to a pre-release screening of the film (see "Mr. Moore Don't Ignore: Please Invite Me to a Screening of Your Movie").

Rather than wait for Moore to respond, I contacted his agent in Hollywood and finally reached his PR people who promised to schedule a screening in Washington, DC or San Francisco (or both, I couldn't be sure).

Since then there have been several emails back and forth as I continue to press them about the screening. They keep responding, "as soon as we know, we will tell you." So far, however, I do not have a definite date.

My hopes have been renewed, however, by an article in PRWeek ("Comms efforts intensify as 'Sicko' release nears") that states:

"[Spokesperson Chris] Lehane said the team is organizing a series of strategic screenings to reach key audiences, including special screenings for Bay Area and DC bloggers, as well as screenings in early primary states and state capitols where healthcare reform is now being considered."

Now, I hope this screening isn't JUST for "DC Bloggers" -- meaning political bloggers and the guys at Drug Wonks! THAT WOULD BE A TRAVESTY!

My call, and my hope, is that all us bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere^TM will have an opportunity to attend a screening -- even if it IS in Washington, DC.

Of course, there's the issue of who pays our train or plane fares.

I am sure, however, that a mere few hundred dollars and free buffet lunch plus the opportunity to hobnob with Moore and DC bloggers would never taint our opinion of the film!

BTW, from what I have seen on Oprah (see the videos here), freebies or no freebies, I am convinced that this movie has wings.

'Round the Sphere: Moore (sic) Movies, Avandia Avalanche

Several new Moore SiCKO sightings, news, and video clips have been posted by bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere^TM.

PharmaGossip posted several links to reviews in the press as well as a video clip (trailer) from the movie (see "SiCKO - what the papers say").

Most reviews are pretty positive. I haven't seen one inch devoted to what the movie says about the pharmaceutical industry. Moore seems mostly concerned with hospitals and insurance companies as the bad guys.

I am still trying to get a screening for us pharma bloggers (see "Mr. Moore Don't Ignore: Please Invite Me to a Screening of Your Movie") and have made some progress on that front that I will be able to talk about later.

Drug Wonks, those "Tricky Wonkers" who attempted a "Wonky PR Trick" pre-debut, has been quiet apres le debut -- I guess all the positive media reviews (even from conservative FOX!) is too much for these PR wonks to spin in the opposite direction!

For a treasure trove of SiCKO blog links (mostly outside our sphere of influence), take a look at this Google Blog Search page.

INNERSTATE: Is it DTC Advertising?
SiCKO wasn't the only movie on pharma bloggers's minds this week. Centocor's 58-minute disease awareness documentary INNERSTATE was also a hot topic in the Sphere.

After finally seeing the movie, Pharm Aid was enthusiastic about it:

"Johnson & Johnson has a long history these kind of broader issues-based campaigns. Since the J&J product, Remicade, is never mentioned in the film and no treatment option is pushed (contrary to Avorn’s comments that this is a “commercial”), it’s not clear if J&J is thinking of InnerState as an issues campaign or if this is more traditional product push."

Unfortunately, as I pointed out on Pharma Marketing Blog and as Ed Silverman pointed out on Pharmalot, INNERSTATE may actually be a commercial. True, the movie itself never mentions Remicade (Centocor's product), but, according to evidence submitted to me by SEIU Local 32BJ, Remicade product information -- a medication guide -- was distributed at a showing of the movie in the King of Prussia Mall in PA in April. I also received the INNERSTATE DVD in the mail containing this product information along with the movie. IMHO, this makes the entire campaign a DTC promotion rather than an unbranded disease awareness campaign, which is how it has been generally described in the press and on other blogs.

Of course, SEIU Local 32BJ has a bone to pick with J&J and has sent letters to FDA and PhRMA claiming that Centocor is in violation of FDA regulations and PhRMA DTC guidelines. However, as I explained to the union's representative, I do not believe Centocor is in violation because it included all the necessary fair balance information.

Anyway, you can find all sides of the story here, including a lengthy statement from Michael Parks, Centocor's Director of Public Relations, and Executive Producer of INNERSTATE. This level of engagement with bloggers is unprecedented and earns Centocor kudos from me.

Avandia Avalanche
As expected, many pharma bloggers have precipitated an avalanche of posts about Avandia, which is being characterized in the press and on blogs as the Vioxx II.

While I love to see a big pharmaceutical company squirm -- especially a British pharma company -- as much as the next American guy, I offered GSK some advice on how to handle the situation. See "Advice to GSK on Handling the Avandia Avalanche: Don't Do What Merck Did".

Steve Woodruff from Impactiviti Blog added his own piece of advice in a comment to my post:

Make a Public Pledge

Something along these lines: "According to the information we have right now, we are convinced that Avandia is a safe and effective treatment. However if, in collaboration with the FDA and clinical researchers, we come to the conclusion in the future that this (or any) drug that we offer has risks that outweigh its benefits, we will immediately withdraw it from the market."

- Take a strong stand based on current information
- Show openness to the implications of new (well-founded) information
- Follow through on the pledge no matter what the cost

This kind of no-nonsense stance, joined to responsible disclosure and clear communication to the marketplace, will go a long way toward countering the negative view of "Big Pharma" - particularly when there are Vioxx-type side effect problems...

Be sure to visit Impactiviti Blog for more insights on GSK.

Meanwhile, Drug Wonks has an interesting perspective on why the Avandia story is breaking now. See "Sneak Attack on PDUFA," which should be stored under "it ain't over until the fat (diabetic) lady sings."

'Round the Sphere with Christiane Truelove: Tricky Wonkers or Wonky Tricks?

If you are not already a subscriber to PharmaLive's e-newsletter "Pharma Blogs: Week in Review" edited by Christiane Truelove, do it now! (subscribe here) It's a nice Friday morning treat, especially when she highlights comments form some of my favorite bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere^TM, although this week "not so much" viz-a-viz my favorites.

Everyone, it seems has an opinon of Michael Moore's new documentary SiCKO, but no-one has seen it! I'm on record with my "Mr. Moore, Don't Ignore" campaign to get a special screening for us pharma bloggers.

Wonky Tricks
Christiane quotes Drug Wonks' Peter ("industry pit bull") Pitts declaring that Moore's film is not doing well in test-market trials. "Can anyone take a film about health care from a clinically obese person seriously?" Mr. Pitts asks.

How does Peter know about SiCKO test market trials? Simple. All he has to do is qualify his statement with "according to inside sources," which he never cites (don't take my word for it; see "Sicko flops in test market trials").

Of course, if you do a Google search on "SiCKO test market", you will find Peter's post plus pundits who pander to Peter by citing his post. A complete circle jerk and PR wonky trick!

According to my inside source -- ie, my gut -- Peter Pitts is full of sh*t!

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: Bloggers Side with SiCKO (to a point and for now); Tongue-in-Cheek Free Lunch

Michael Moore's long-awaited documentary film SiCKO (why the lowercase "i"?), about the pharmaceutical-health-insurance-industry complex, is set to debut in Cannes this Saturday.

I wish I could be there, but I am temporarily without passport! So, I wrote an open letter to Moore and urged him to invite us bloggers to a special screening in NYC. If Centocor can do it with its film Moore should be able to as well! (See "Mr. Moore Don't Ignore: Please Invite Me to a Screening of Your Movie").

While I continue to advance the interests of pharma bloggers, other bloggers have pitched in with their own commentary on this film and Michael Moore.

Mark Senak, who confesses not to have seen any of Mike's films, nevertheless has some good advice on putting this movie into perspective:

"I would like to think that SiCKO is perhaps an opportunity for industry and for industry critics to do some soul-searching, asking the real tough questions about how people got to feeling the way they do about the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, and what can be done about it. But for people on each side of the issue to spend time this summer calling the movie or its maker names isn't likely to advance anyone's image - industry or its critics." (See "The Summer of SiCKO - Cannes Film Festival Begins Today.")

This comment got a hearty "hear, hear" comment. Mark, if Moore takes my challenge and invites me to a special screening of SiCKO, I'll be sure to put in a good word for you as well.

Ed Silverman over at Pharmalot expressed a similar point of view:

"Getting beat up in a widely publicized movie isn't likely to make execs and their employees feel warm and fuzzy. Few people respond well to harsh criticism. So ignoring or chastising Moore and his film is likely to be a typical reaction. But that won't make the issues disappear. If anything, big pharma will only appear more defensive, and confirm impressions that critics say is all too real." (See "SiCKO Debuts At Cannes On Saturday").

Ed got some decidedly nasty comments, including this one, which brought the Holocaust into play:

"Occam's Beard says:

Sorry, don't mean to become a gadfly here, but I can't let this pass either without examining the logic.

Or has industry made it easy for him - and other critics - to pull out the long knives? This requires a gamut of people ...to look in the mirror and ask why their industry is increasingly villified.

So unpopularity necessarily has a just basis that the unpopular would do well to reflect on and change their ways?

Perhaps that should be pointed out to German Jews, if you can find any. Demonizing the unpopular is child's play."

I am not sure this qualifies as a direct comparison of Moore's anticipated treatment of Pharma to German Nazi's' demonizing of jews, but there you have it! Occam must not be a proponent of the First Amendment!

Other bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere^TM posted reports about SiCKO, but had nothing new to add.

Meanwhile, the brouhaha over the Cupcake Caper (see "'Round the Sphere With Christiane Truelove") has morphed to a brouhaha about pharma free lunches to physicians and patients in general.

When Black Kitty first raised the issue of appropriate food to give to patients -- cupcakes didn't seem to meet BK's criteria of appropriate -- I thought this was worthy to follow up with some general guidelines of pharma's nascent free lunch for patients program (see "Guidelines for Gifts to Patients"). I had written on free lunch for patients before (see "Free lunch for patients! Why not?") and thought this was an appropriate topic to add on to.

But that story is history.

Pharma's Free Lunch for Physicians Program
What really hit a nerve is when I revisited pharma's practice of free lunch for PHYSICIANS and reported that 62% of respondents to a poll agreed that this practice should ceaase (see "Blog Readers' Opinions on Physician Marketing & Education Practices").

Sarah Palmer, Cafe Pharma webmaster, reminded me that such a poll is not statistically significant. I'm not questioning that -- Sarah and I are on good speaking terms now and I don't wish to reopen old issues. But I will say that in this new age of Web 2.0 and "The Wisdom of Crowds," online polls, rating score and opinions from readers, regardless of the statistical significance, will have an increasing impact on the pharmaceutical industry.

Some industry experts, like Bob Ehrlich, Chairman of DTC Perspectives, have even suggested that Blogs may some day rival DTC (direct to consumer) advertising in influencing consumers (see "Blogs vs. DTC: What's Best for Consumers?").

I think that's what he said. But you don't have to be satisfied with my interpretation. Mr. Ehrlich will be my guest on an upcoming Pharma Marketing Talk podcast on Thursday, May 24, 2007, 1 PM Eastern US time. You can access this podcast here.

Regarding my post about the poll that called for an end to pharma free lunch to physicians, I received a comment from an anonymous physician who said:

"I would just like to say that as a former intern and resident working 100-hour weeks while making less than $30K a year, a free lunch now and then was a godsend and brightened up otherwise long and dreary days."

"Seriously, though, I do understand why institutions are moving toward these 'No Free Lunch' things, but really, cut the scut workers a break every now and then. If you've been there, you know how it sucked and how a free lunch was like having recess."

Of course, I took him/her at his/her word and went on to post a little spoof about free lunch being more than just lunch (see "When is a Free Lunch More Than Just Lunch?").

The guy took all this too seriously: "Like I've said, I don't deny that there are issues, but in the world of pharma and medicine, this is such piddling nothing, I have a hard time understanding your obsession with it."

Chill out, dude. You need a Valium, not pizza! You are so full of yourself that YOU cannot recognize when someone else makes comments "with considerable tongue-in-cheek"!

But, you have to wonder, if free lunch was such a "piddling nothing," why does the drug industry spend so much on its "free lunch for physician" program (which I once estimated cost about $1.65 billion per year; see "Free Lunch Redux") and why do physicians like this get so worked up about criticism of the program? It obviously means a lot to them -- like a free entitlement that they will fight tooth and nail to maintain!

Of course, it's not just lunch; it's the golden key that gets reps in the physician's door (see chart above), which is closing to more and more drug reps. The industry itself recognizes it has only itself to blame -- Pfizer, for example, recently cut back the practice of "rep pods" by which a number of reps hit the same doctor with the same message until the doc caves in!

That's it for now. Go forth and explore the sphere!