Television advertisers will do practically anything to grab the attention of viewers these days. That includes nauseating them with gross product mascots in TV ads.
Pharmaceutical companies are the worst offenders. The latest example is the Xifaxan mascot, an anthropomorphized bundle of pink intestines.
The character is named Gut Guy.
I learned that from a legal notice on the Xifaxan website. “The Gut Guy design character is a copyright and trademark of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. or its affiliates,” the notice says.
What follows is a list of revolting product mascots used by companies in TV ads.
The Gut Guy
Valeant uses the Gut Guy to promote its Xifaxan treatment for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or IBS-D. It is a disorder of the large intestine (colon), and it affects more than 10 million Americans, about twice as many women as men.
The Gut Guy doesn’t talk. He’s just a knot of rubbery intestines who looks irritated.
Digger
Digger the Dermatophyte is the cartoon mascot for Lamisil, a tablet from Novartis that combats nail fungus infection.
In one TV ad, Digger pops open a toenail like a car hatchback, and dives in to spread his infection. The ad was much talked about for its high gross-out factor. Digger is a repulsive yellow spiky creature with sharp claws.
Jublia toes
Jublia’s anthropomorphic, festering toenails caused an uproar during this year’s Super Bowl. The ad for Valeant’s Jublia was voted among the worst during the big game. Jublia is a topical solution designed to treat onychomycosis, a fungal infection of toe nails.
Mr. Mucus
Mr. Mucus is the slimy green mascot for Mucinex, a chest congestion expectorant from Reckitt Benckiser Group. In ads, the use of Mucinex sends the snotty creature packing.
Myrbetriq bladder
Myrbetriq is a prescription medicine for adults used to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of urgency, frequency and leakage. The drug from Astellas Pharma features a sad, puffy anthropomorphic bladder who follows OAB sufferers around.
Residue, the Ghost of Meals Past
Residue, the Ghost of Meals Past, is a sticky, rotten, oily mess that lingers on pans and cookie tins even after cleaning. The message from ads for Pam cooking spray, a product of ConAgra Foods, is that you won’t have Residue if you use its product.
They are gross and so over the top they are funny. I'd still rather see that nagging nebbish bladder clinging to the hand of some middle aged lady who leads the nerdy band of a high school. Imagine those band geeks getting wedgies and swirlies after the normal kids and the so called cool kids realize the leader/teacher of the nerdy band geeks has a bladder that clings to her like flies to you know what. And no thank you for those commercials where the peeps needing to get a rise out of life are in those I Love Lucy era bathtubs!
ReplyDeleteMr Mucus is funny (I like T.J.Miller),the one that grosses me out is Jim the pilot talking about his urine flow and exciting new cather choices.
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