Changing the record

The home page contains a short film of a middle-aged man, who – the captions tell us – is glad he has finally had 'the Viagra talk' with his doctor. Further exploration of the site reveals a video of a doctor giving all the requisite info about erectile dysfunction and Viagra (thankfully, without illustrations). My extremely truthful answers to 'rate [my] sexual health' told me that I had no signs of ED, but was there anything else affecting my sex life? If so, I could be put in touch with the nearest doctor who 'specialises in men's sexual health', for which they wanted to know my 'zip code', but that was getting a bit too personal.

Nicely laid out, but very heavy on the clinical text. A link invited me to watch an illustrated video about 'arterial plaque build-up', which had okay graphics, but was a tad reminiscent of TV lavatory cleaner ads. Hidden away, but infinitely better, were patient stories, where LeRoy from Mississippi, Elise from Texas and Dick from New York discussed the difference Crestor had made to them. Beautifully shot and edited, the product message was subtly woven into the script of everyday lives. I even learned a few facts about cabbage rearing, fly fishing and ice hockey.

www = wwwow!

The site opens on a range of patients' portraits, each wearing a colour to represent their individual cancer. Colorectal cancer is presumably Avastin's most important indication, since that patient is wearing a smart suit in the brand's primary purple. Lung cancer is second, with a V-neck in the secondary brand blue. Clicking on each patient makes the relevant disease and drug information drop down and I found the animation I was seeking in the HCP section: 'The MOA Story' is a neat pastiche of Star Wars, with brave aerodynamic receptors attacking the evil VEGF ligand, but you have to sit through a lot to get to the action. At the end, the clinical references rolled like movie end-credits, which was probably the most creative idea in the site.

When you access the website, you are greeted with one of a selection of different patient stories. My diovan.com experience kicked off with a picture of an old bloke straddling a surf board. The copy states: "I take my blood pressure medication because I didn't choose to get this, but I do choose to treat it." The caption under the photo, however, informs me that the surfer man is not an actual Diovan or Diovan HCT patient. Exploring the site in search of answers about who he really was left me no wiser, but I suppose I learned a lot about Diovan in the process, which was probably the point.

w = weak

Clearly the designers of lipitor.com remember the Pearl & Dean opening credits from 1970s' flicks. The homepage features an asteroid belt of information, with floating boxes about Lipitor, cholesterol and healthy living. I picked 'A Lipitor Heart-to-Heart', which was stories of patients who had had heart attacks caused by high cholesterol. Another section, 'Living Healthy', talked about diet and exercise. The mis-spelling of the adverb annoyed me, and I was reminded how the Americans are not only appropriating our drug companies, but also our language. 

ww = worth a wander