rls simulator weird wired science

RLS Simulator: Weird Wired Science

"It's not a diagnosis machine in any way, shape, or form," said

Allison, the Creative Director for the RLS simulator commissioned by

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "It is an awareness piece

for the physician community ... so they will have a better

understanding of the science."

Allison was interviewed in a Wired Science Video: "The Business of

Disease," which aired on PBS last night.

This video critique of the RLS drug marketing campaign is vastly more

informative than the Consumer Reports video critique I reported on

yesterday (see "RLS Foundation (aka GSK?) Calls for Boycott of

Consumer Reports Over Ad Spoof").

The most interesting part of the video was when the Wired Science

reporter strapped on the weird device and confessed that "It's not too

bad. Just a bit of tingling. But I can imagine if I had this happen

night after night, you know, for hours on end, it would bug me."

Meanwhile the thing sounded like a buzz saw! Must be those ants in

there. I am sure every physician who straps this simulator on will

understand the science of a vibrator, but I'm not so sure they will

gain any more understanding of the "science" of RLS as Allison

claimed.

Aside from seeing an RLS simulator in action, I learned that symptom

diaries, which are ubiquitous on product websites, are designed to

instruct patients how to frame their symptoms as a diagnosis, which

makes it easy for doctors to prescribe medicine for that diagnosis.

Pretty cool way of manipulating the patient-physician interaction,

huh?

Richard Myer, blogger at World of DTC Marketing, was featured as the

resident pharma marketing expert in the video. "Creating a need,

that's what marketing is all about," said Myer. "If people don't know

they have a need, create a need."

BTW, Rich owes me a favor for passing his contact information along to

the Wired Science producers when they contacted me looking for an

expert they could interview. Within hours of getting my

recommendation, they showed up at Rich's home for filming. Need I say

more about why it pays to be on my good side?