Parke-Davis 1955-1957

[jocelmeow.livejournal.com]

This is a series of a dozen Parke-Davis ads that ran in LIFE between 1955 and 1957. I thought these were interesting because of the attitudes toward medicine in an era in which it had recently made some large breakthroughs. (And of course, an era unlike our own, in which advertising specific drugs is now permitted in the U.S.)







What's the embarrassing topic? STD? GI complaint? No, the bill!



Now you can get over TB with only a six-month hospital stay! I suppose that is better than getting drug-resistant TB, though.

Comments

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

in that bubblegum advertisement, there is a phrase which i wish EVERYONE would sear on their forehead, in reverse, so they can see it every time they look in a mirror:

"no drug will work miracles for everyone". the end. allergies, sensitivities, adverse side effects, and i'm tired of being told that THIS WONDER DRUG is going to make me all better, when its something i cant take. gahhh!!

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

The gum ad is kind of disturbing just because of the visual association, but the others are interesting.

People should ask their doctors about their bills, but good luck with that! For one, these days, doctors have no clue how much their treatments cost. If you do call to dispute a charge, you will be given a huge run around before you finally get to someone who (1) knows what they're talking about; (2) has the authority to fix it. Most people's eyes glaze over when they see their bill and just say, "meh, as long as the insurance takes care of it."

[oh-meow.livejournal.com]

I always find the way prescription medication is advertised in the US so bizarre. It's like you're supposed to go "Hey, Doctor, I want to be prescribed Abcadrine rather than Xyzoprole, because I've seen an advert, and that means far more than your years of medical school". Where I live (the UK) all the prescriptions are either free/ a fixed low price (ie paid for by taxes/national insurance payments), so they give you the generic ones unless there's a particular reason you need the original brand. Often the boxes are from some other country because they got a great deal on buying say the Finnish version of x or the French version of Y, and they just stick some labels on top with the English info.

[oh-meow.livejournal.com]

Although that does mean that nearly all the medical ads on tv here are for treatments for verrucas/piles/diarrhea/constipation/colds/fungal nails/etc which is not exactly appetising.

[jocelmeow.livejournal.com]

Believe me, because it began here in 1997, after I became an adult, I find it just as bizarre, and for the same reasons! I don't think it's a good use of the large amounts of money that get spent that way.

[oh-meow.livejournal.com]

Can you really tell your doctor what to prescribe you anyway in the US? (I mean apart from "I'm allergic to that" or "I had a bad reaction to that before"). And can't the insurance company go "didn't you read clause 534,000.252b? We don't cover that."

[jocelmeow.livejournal.com]

Well, you're asking this question of a person with an odd experience of the healthcare system - I have a very disabling chronic illness that includes terrible insomnia, and I don't tolerate the usual insomnia drugs, so I've asked for various things to help with that problem - mostly not advertised, though, things I've read about. My experience has been that if I say I want to try something and my doctor thinks it's at least somewhat reasonable, I'll get the script. But I have also had the experience of "I won't write for that drug because I think it's a bad drug" or "Our hospital system will not write for that because of its black-market value."

[oh-meow.livejournal.com]

See, we have a central agency which approves drugs for prescription, http://www.nice.org.uk/ and to weed out things that are pricier but show no real improvement on the old version. The doctors all have a directory (usually a computer programme) with all the approved drugs for various conditions, and if they see that you've informed yourself, they will usually let you pick the one you want off the list if there's no real reason not to, or will talk you through the side effects and so on, seeing as the medication is all the same price. (Although of course they're encouraged to give you the cheapest one if there's nothing to rule it out)

[oh-meow.livejournal.com]

What I mean, is that the patient pays the same price, so it's in the interests of the health system to prescribe the cheapest version if there's no reason not to. Kind of the opposite of the US, where it's in the interest of the healthcare system to get the patient to buy the newest, most expensive version of things.

[jocelmeow.livejournal.com]

And that's why I think the money is badly spent - because it attempts to change the motivation of so many players in a way that benefits mostly the pharmaceutical companies.

[write-light.livejournal.com]

I'm in an HMO, so whatever Rx I need are approved for generic versions by the doctor (who is within the HMO and thus know what can be approved from their "formulary"), and if there is no generic version, then the name brand is given. Name brands under many health plans are twice the cost to four times the cost of generics but if you have good coverage, that means $20 vs $5, so yeah, people feel they can ask for DrugOfChoice X. The result is higher costs for everyone, but that connection hasn't been made in most people's minds.

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

The table and the chairs in the last ad are Finnish design furniture that is still manufactured by Artek. They were introduced in the fifties and were considered modern. In my eye, they clash badly with the maid.

http://www.vepsalainen.com/fi/tuotteet/poeydaet/ruokapoeydaet/poeytae-81b
http://www.vepsalainen.com/fi/tuotteet/tuolit/ruokapoeydaen-tuolit/nousukausituoli