TV Ads at us Seniors

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I have some gripes about TV ads aimed at us. (I'm an old crotchety guy, so I'm entitled to two.)
#1. It's open season on choosing health care plans. I know this because every TV ad on programs we Seniors watch is sponsored by a plan.
#2. It's the ads for pills or medical devices. They show haggard, barely alive people before the pill or device. And then afterwards, you see smiling, well, healthy people at bazaars, dances,hikes, etc. There's one for oxygen. Some poor woman is taking her last breath by lugging a huge O2 tank out of the trunk. Then with the device, she's smiling, and healthful, walking through a shop. If you need O2 to live, you aren't healthfully doing anything.
Now, that I've got my crotchetiness out, maybe you have some of your own aimed TV ads for us seniors?
 

There are some commercials I find amusing, because the products are usually for a specific age range(eg: Depends) but they show people in their 30s rejoicing that they no longer have to pee in their pants.

The disposable diaper industry no doubt pays political lobbyists to push for laws hoping to outlaw potty training.


Other commercials, like for Consumer Cellular are sappy, but basically pretty relevant. Consumer Cellular markets to the older crowd, that want the benefits of a smart phone, but don't particularly spend their entire waking hours of the day on the phone. Younger cell phone users gobble up data, watching movies(while driving, for example) or using any one of a trillion social media apps "staying connected", constantly posting or twiting but not really saying anything of substance. T mobile is better suited for them.

"Over-fifty" dating site commercials...really? Geezus! You get to a place in your life where you've gotten past the divorces, spouse passing, kids grown up and moved out, all the drama producing events of life, you just want some peace! Dating? Oh yea, like I really 'want' to play all those games again. :rolleyes:
 
The ads for a prescription that requires a doctor to prescribe. They begin with the benefits, describe the potential harmful side effects then advise to "check with your doctor before taking" . Duh your doctor has to prescribe.
 

The ads for the "new and improved" (which is it?) catheters.

I'm sorry, but I had an emergency catheterization almost 2 years ago and it was NOT fun. I don't care how pocket-sized, smooth-tipped, silicone-covered, discrete or innovative it is - I DON'T WANT THEM DELIVERED TO ME EVERY MONTH AT BARGAIN PRICES.

I can't wait until they start airing medical marijuana commercials for seniors - I'd go on THAT casting call.
 
I absolutely hate all the ads pushing prescription drugs on the TV. :mad: But, I have to say I got a kick out of this ad about the facebook wall. :D

 
SifuPhil said:
The ads for the "new and improved" (which is it?) catheters.

I'm sorry, but I had an emergency catheterization almost 2 years ago and it was NOT fun. I don't care how pocket-sized, smooth-tipped, silicone-covered, discrete or innovative it is - I DON'T WANT THEM DELIVERED TO ME EVERY MONTH AT BARGAIN PRICES.

I can't wait until they start airing medical marijuana commercials for seniors - I'd go on THAT casting call.
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The thing about catheters- the very thought that the need to self-cath could be so wide spread that they'd advertise products on TV just leaves me cringing in horror...curled up into the fetal position in the closet. :hororr::upset::mask::crushed:
 
From some of the glib comments I've seen, I'm guessing the respondents have not (yet) needed at-home catheters nor incontinence products. Just so you are aware, these are not age-specific products.
 
nvtribefan said:
From some of the glib comments I've seen, I'm guessing the respondents have not (yet) needed at-home catheters nor incontinence products. Just so you are aware, these are not age-specific products.
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I'm sure you're referring to my comment, not "glib" I'm dead serious. Anyone that does have to self-cath has my greatest solicitude.
 
Knight said:
The ads for a prescription that requires a doctor to prescribe. They begin with the benefits, describe the potential harmful side effects then advise to "check with your doctor before taking" . Duh your doctor has to prescribe.
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How about "tell your doctor if you have High blood pressure!"?????
 
OneEyedDiva said:
What gets me is by the time they tell you about the side affect, some potentially life threatening, who the hell wants to try these advertised medications?!
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In addition to that....who is paying for all these "Ask Your Doctor" ads....certainly Not the drug companies. Every person who buys into one of these prescriptions is helping to pay for these ads. If Washington was Really serious about reducing healthcare costs, our government would Ban these ads. These TV ads cost the drug companies billions of dollars per year, and they just add those costs to the price of their drugs. The Only Two nations that allow this propaganda to be broadcasted are the U.S. and New Zealand.
 
The return on the pharmaceutical companie's investment in advertising is lucrative,

in real dollars, every $1 the pharmaceutical industry spent on DTC advertising in that year yielded an additional $4.20 in drug sales
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source
 
And now,,,,in recent months, there seems to be a new Wrinkle in these ads.....they tell us Not to take "Drug X" if we are allergic to it. Well, how is a person to know if they are allergic to this chemical until they take it and wind up in the hospital with some drastic side effect. Plus, very seldom are there any claims made about these concoctions actually curing any problems...instead they just mask the symptoms while bleeding the patients financially. IMO, most of this stuff is little more than a Scam.
 
Amen to that, Manatee! And I use it not only as soon as the commercials come on, there are certain, er, political figures who automatically get the mute button as well. ;)

What cracks me up is the frequent advice to "ask your doctor." Can you imagine what the poor doctors' lives would be like if every single person watching that ad rushed to the phone to call them? They would have no time left to actually treat patients!

My own pet peeve is not so much the TV advertising, it's the "cookies" placed on my computer, targeting me for specific ads, some of them age-related. Just taking part in this forum has targeted me, including for one scam "survey" that has messed up my computer.
 
Sunny said:
My own pet peeve is not so much the TV advertising, it's the "cookies" placed on my computer, targeting me for specific ads, some of them age-related. Just taking part in this forum has targeted me, including for one scam "survey" that has messed up my computer.
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The computer ads are a real nuisance....and they slow down your computer. I've used a free program called AdBlock Plus, for the past 3 or 4 years and it has blocked almost 2 million ads in that time...with NO adverse affects on how my system runs. Here's the Yahoo page that can send you to the appropriate site to download this program for your Browser.

https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=adblock+plus&fr=yfp-t-s&fp=1&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I have some gripes about TV ads aimed at us. (I'm an old crotchety guy, so I'm entitled to two.)
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I don't know I do kinda look like those before add's because I don't take much of anything to "improve" this or that ailment.

But we have to be thankful because if you rely notice television adds we are now in the minority when it comes to who the major networks target with their adds. Almost ever show now is overwhelmed with young people. From what was the domain of the grizzled old detective is now an almost too young to know what he is doing cop, to the 80% of add's targeting the 18 to 35 age group.

No thanks I'll watch my TV shows on DVD and stay with a detective who knows what he is doing
and continue to ignore the add's that tell me I can walk better if I take their supplement!
 
SifuPhil said:
The ads for the "new and improved" (which is it?) catheters.

I'm sorry, but I had an emergency catheterization almost 2 years ago and it was NOT fun. I don't care how pocket-sized, smooth-tipped, silicone-covered, discrete or innovative it is - I DON'T WANT THEM DELIVERED TO ME EVERY MONTH AT BARGAIN PRICES.

I can't wait until they start airing medical marijuana commercials for seniors - I'd go on THAT casting call.
Click to expand...
In April when I had my Heart attack, the hospital catheterized me, it took a full month after I got home to pee without some pain.
 

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