Often, we marketers are accused of creating needs that never existed– and often, this is true. But that power can be used for good or evil.
I’m not a doctor. Obviously. But this is the Internet, so I have an (uneducated) opinion based on 2 minutes of searches and blog reading. I saw a commercial the other day for a new drug that helps alleviate the symptoms of an ominous-sounding syndrome: Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.). Now, according to the Internet– and I believe everything I read*– you can get rid of P.A.D. by exercising and/or giving up tobacco. Also, it’s typically a sign of a larger problem: arteriosclerosis.
The evil marketing strategy at work here is that pharma companies (among other types) recognize that we want to keep our lifestyle the same. Exercizing is hard work. And, if you’re a smoker, giving up tobacco is hard work (although there are plenty of drugs to help you quit!). So pharma companies respond to that want (it’s not a need). Their evil marketing strategies create and promote an increasing array of diseases, disorders, and syndromes– like P.A.D.– that need drugs to alleviate our suffering.
But pharma can’t take all the blame. I also blame us for being lazy, gullible, and selfish. Now that you’re done reading this rant, go. Do something physical. Step away from the screen and go for a walk. Oh. And if you’re a marketer? Don’t be evil.
*in case you didn’t pick up on it, I was being sarcastic.