Every Afternoon, During the News Hour on the Local CBS Affiliate,

[MineralMan]

I learn about a treatment for Peyronie's disease. In the ad, you are sent to a website, bentcarrot.com. I have not visited that site.

The ad features a man and his wife. Apparently, his "manhood," as they refer to the penis, has a bend in it. His wife looks very disappointed, and he is clearly distraught with shame.

My wife commented on that ad, the first time she noticed it, saying, "Why are we seeing this ad right now?" I explained that ads like that one run during the late afternoon news because more people have the TV on and tuned to a broadcast network at that time of day. "Oh," she said. "But, is that a common problem for men?" I couldn't answer, so I Googled it.

According to the Mayo Clinic, about 200,000 men in the US a year present with symptoms of Peyronie's Disease. So, not very common. Is it a serious problem? Well, it can be, if it interferes with normal sexual activity, I suppose. Still, though...

The medicine advertised in the ad is XIAFLEX, which is collagenase clostridium histolyticum, derived from a bacterium. According to the ad, you need multiple treatments, and after each treatment, you have to avoid sexual intercourse for four weeks. There are plenty of side-effects, too, including penile fracture, whatever that might be. The pharma company, though, says that might require surgery
to repair.

Why bentcarrot.com? Because the ad has flying bent carrots depicted in it. WTAF?

So, my questions are: If this treats only a small percentage of the male population, has serious possible side effects, and involves avoiding intercourse for a couple of months, how much of this stuff do they think they can sell? The drug costs over $5000 for a single treatment, and you need two treatments at a minimum. That does not include the cost of the urologist who does the treatments. Again, how many men are going to sign up for such a thing?

And then there's the often-asked question: How do I explain this ad to my tween children who are watching the news when this ad runs?

So many questions. So much poor taste in advertising. '

Seems to me that it would be cheaper just to buy another AR-15...

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

1. Nice punchline.

Didn't see it coming.

[MineralMan]

3. Thanks!

[Ocelot II]

2. If the drug costs $5K for a single treatment, and at least two are needed,

and 200,000 men present with it every year, that's $2,000,000,000.00 annually. So they want to convince every guy out there whose manhood is not perfectly aligned to get treatment for this disorder. And since men tend to be pretty sensitive about that body part and wouldn't want to be thought of as having a bent carrot, they are a susceptible audience.

As to explaining the ad to tween children, they probably know a lot more about such things than we did at the same age and aren't being traumatized. But still, these ads, as well as those relating to various female problems, leakage, intestinal afflictions and other untidy bodily functions, are gross and weird and I'd rather not see them.

[MineralMan]

4. I suppose so. And, as for those other bodily function ads,

they tend to show up at the same time of day. There's an audience that matches some demographic category that appeals to pharma advertisers.

[hunter]

5. Nope, don't miss traditional advertising supported television, not one bit.

It seems to me that simply watching traditional television is a risk factor for bent carrots, unwanted leakage of bodily fluids, paralyzing anxiety, and other maladies.

[peggysue2]

6. I've seen these ads, multiple times

Btw, the website's name is for the ages: bentcarrot.com. LOL

[MineralMan]

7. Yeah. I wonder who decided on that URL...

[lame54]

8. Do they feature guys standing sideways at the urinals?