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The world’s most honest advert?

I note that Vicks are currently running a TV ad with the strapline:

We start with solutions, not problems

Is this a pharmaceutical company admitting that they invent dubious syndromes to fit their drugs? They say that honesty is the best policy, but claiming that their products may form the solution to a non-existent problem might prove to be a little too honest.

This post was filed under: Health, Media.

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Comments and responses

Comment from Ben King


    10.17, 06/11/2007

Maybe it’s a chemist’s joke – many of their products are dissolved in water.


Comment from Mort Karman


    00.50, 07/11/2007

Iif you think this is strange-here is something stranger- It would appear that it would be less expensive to purchase a non prescription drug when it can do the job of a prescription one. In many cases it is not the case.
Because of the weird insurance situation here my wife and I and friends have found that in some cases it is less expensive to get a drug which may cost several hundred dollars, but which is paid in full or mostly by insurance then to get an inexpensive over the counter drug which is not covered by insurance and we have to pay the total price for.
Thus Vicks, as well as several other perfectly good over the counter meds are not used because the more expensive prescription ones actually cost less out of pocket due to the insurance picking up the cheque.
Modern medicine as practiced in America.


Comment from Jonathan Rothwell


    15.11, 07/11/2007

I must say that it makes Vicks sound like an IT company.


Comment from sjhoward (author of the post)


    22.15, 14/11/2007

I’d love to think it was a chemists’ joke, but I’m doubting it… I notice that they’ve changed their slogan to “People not Problems” or something equally moronic on their latest advert – not sure if the old one’s still running or not.




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