when more is not enough

The birth story of the world’s only treatment for Dysphoric Social Attention Consumption Deficit

Anxiety Disorder

Why make another pharmaceutical?

More and more prescription drugs are being developed and sold which can be lifestyle enhancing rather than life-saving. So in response to the marketing and advertising tactics of the pharmaceutical industry I created a fictional marketing campaign to launch my own magic-bullet lifestyle pharmaceutical HAVIDOL™.

I wanted to create the entire drug marketing process. In order to do so it quickly became clear I had to follow these necessary steps.

• Find or invent a new disorder (wherein a need is first found and then the disorder is penned)

• Name and brand the new drug

• Develop a good looking pill

• Generate promotional merchandise

• Create a Website, TV and print advertisements.

Why HAVIDOL?

What is HAVIDOL?

• 4 TV Spots• 8 Print Ads• 2 Billboards• Pill Sculptures• Merchandise• Website http://

havidol.com

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Each print ad was designed for a particular mass readership magazine, tailored to fit their demographic.

Importance of the website• Global

– HAVIDOL has been translated into multiple languages and made contributions to documentaries in the UK and Switzerland.

• Populist– Reached beyond an art audience– Resonated with healthcare professionals, patients,

academics, researchers,teachers

• Viral– HAVIDOL received half a million hits in its first month.– 112,000 search results for HAVIDOL– 60,000 for DSACDAD

ReactionsThe website provided an online form for visitors to leave comments. Feedback took all forms including:

– Anger / Criticism – Appreciation– Collaboration– Confusion– Entering the spirit of the work

Complex Relationship between the ads and the consumer

Print and TV DTC Ads

• appear to affect prescribing practices for better or worse

• are often inaccurate,

• frequently in violation of FDA regulations

• promote inappropriate use

• increase the price of drugs

Campaigning with new media

Whether you are are culture jamming or actually trying to sell pharmaceuticals, electronic media offers serious advantages over traditional media.

Benefits can include• low cost content delivery

• targeted

• potentially more informative

• potentially more engaging

For drug marketers there is the added benefit of gathering personal information and masquerading as health information.

Outcomes of HAVIDOLThe drug industry is so fraught with problems it will take more than banning DTCA to fix them. However 22 million Americans currently take psychotropic medication, most for relatively mild conditions.

Desired outcomes for HAVIDOL include

• Raising awareness of drug marketing tactics through humor

• Distinguishing between disease and discontent

• Questioning the content we gather from the web

The Future of HAVIDOL

The Future of HAVIDOL

HAVIDOL will remain online as an example of constructive parody indefinitely.

Future Plans include

• Booth at medical conferences

• A shop front in Second Life

• A Patient Advocacy Site

• A HAVIDOL game for handheld devices