The latest commercial for this is some sort of miracle of modern marketing. It depicts a series of women who presumably use this birth control product. Floating over their heads or around them are a series of words which they reach out and smash. "Moodiness... Short Temper... Irritability... Acne" (Acne?) All of them are smashed by the enthusiastic and attractive women. Honestly, I was waiting for one of them to deliver a lethal karate chop to "Bitchiness!"
What's going on here and why are we discussing it? The first item is the deviously clever marketing angle of this. The product is, above all else, a birth control pill. It claims to deliver a variety of other benefits, though. In addition to clearing up any acne you may have, this pill is supposed to remove mood swings, anxiety, nervousness, irritability and a rash of other personality disorders. The manufacturer is calling it the symptoms of PMMD, but let's call it what it is. This pill is supposed to eliminate the symptoms of PMS, in addition to preventing pregnancy.
So... who is the advertisement geared toward? All previous ads for birth control I've ever seen are intended to sell the product to women. Duh! Only women take them! But this commercial is geared toward men!!! That's right. So your girlfriend is already on the pill, right? But at certain times of the month, she might act a little bit... ummm.. well, let's say no more. But as anyone in the Y-Chromosome sporting community will tell you, one of the worst mistakes you can EVER make in a relationship is to suggest to your lady friend even the slightest hint that she might possibly just want to give some consideration to perhaps taking a Midol. You will quickly find yourself sitting outside on the lawn wondering how you're going to look when you return from the emergency room sporting a jaunty new eye patch and cranial bandages.
But now, if you can point out to your special lady that there is a new product which will not only take care of her birth control concerns but will also prevent acne! Oh yes, my friends. You won't mention those other little "side benefits" now will you? But if you can get her to start taking this product, it doesn't matter if it costs ten times what her current pill does. You'll be standing there with your checkbook waiting for fork over the dough.
"So", you might ask, "where is the political angle to this?"
Simple. Any conservative Republicans stopping by here are likely aware that you simply don't like birth control. Let's face it... it just looks too much like abortion, doesn't it? And besides, the whole concept of birth control pills flies directly in the face of abstinence education - the only approved method of not having children in some circles. This sneaky, devious ad is obviously targeting the NASCAR dads in the red states who might just look past the baby preventative nature of the medicine if it's a sure-fire PMS preventative that the little woman is guaranteed to take every month.
It's a sneaky plot, alright. And it's crazy enough that it.... Just. Might. Work.
Oh, you may also want to take a look at the potential side effects.
The most frequent (>1%) treatment-emergent adverse events, listed in descending order, reported with the use of YAZ in the PMDD clinical trials, which may or may not be drug related, included: intermenstrual bleeding, headache, nausea, breast pain, upper respiratory infection, asthenia, abdominal pain, decreased libido, emotional lability, suspicious Papanicolaou smear, nervousness, menorrhagia, pain in extremity, depression, menstrual disorder, migraine, sinusitis, weight gain, vaginal moniliasis, vaginitis, hyperlipidemia, back pain, diarrhea, increased appetite, enlarged abdomen, accidental injury, acne, dysmenorrhea, urinary tract infection...
Ummm... hold on. What was that one a couple effects back?
...enlarged abdomen, accidental injury, acne
Wasn't one of the main selling points that it cured acne? Oy vey.
A lot of those other possible side effects include menstrual disruption- like an increase and possible extra days. And the Mood lability, nervousness and depression + headache = more PMDD. Any time you fuck with hormones you can have problems. Sounds to me it's just a different marketing strategy and is just as likely to cause as much as it cures.
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