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Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly turning to a tactic
that gets their drugs and the conditions they treat in the
news--paying athletes and celebrities to tell reporters about
their own struggles with illnesses, according to The Associated
Press.
The
campaign produces human interest stories that have raised
some concern about the further blurring of the old line between
news and commercial messages, reports Seth Sutel of the AP.
The
recent campaigns have been aimed at the news sections of newspapers
and TV, where personalities like former gymnast Bart Connor
or former Olympic gold medalist skater Dorothy Hamill speak
favorably about products for arthritis and other ailments.
Some
of the celebrity appearances resemble public service campaigns
about common and treatable medical conditions, such as high
cholesterol, without referring to a specific drug the company
makes to treat the condition. "In other cases, celebrities
are hired to mention specific drugs in the interview," Sutel
said.
Celeste
Torello, who is manager of corporate media relations for Pfizer,
told Sutel that the commercial relationship between the company
and their celebrity hires is "made very clear to the journalists...It's
really then up to the journalists to decide in the final story
how much or how little of that relationship to mention."
In
one such campaign, Connor was paid to discuss how he was treating
his osteoarthritis with Celebrex, made by Pfizer and G.D.
Searle & Co. Sutel said several news stories resulting from
the campaign, including articles in The New York Daily
News, AP and an appearance on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America,"
did not make clear that Connor was paid.
Todd
Polkes, a spokesman for ABC, said his operation was unaware
of Connor's relationship with Celebrex.
Ken
Frydman, a Daily News spokesman, said his paper discourages
promotion stories although he admitted once in a while a commercial
reference finds its way into print.
Kelly
Tunney, director of corporate communications for AP, said
the news agency also questions the news value of such promotional
stories.
In
instances where an endorser's comments are judged newsworthy,
Tunney said it is the reporter's responsibility to ask if
he or she is paid by the manufacturer of the product and to
include that information in the story.
Pfizer
has also paid Julie Krone, a former top female jockey who
retired last year after struggling with depression, to promote
Zoloft, an anti-depressant she takes. Profiles of Krone and
her struggles appeared in several news outlets.
Merck
& Co., in another campaign, paid former athletes Bruce Jenner
and Hamill to give interviews to news organizations last fall
to discuss Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory medicine that they
both use to treat arthritis. Several newspapers and TV news
shows did stories on one or both of them.
Chris
Fanelle, director of PA for the human health services division,
said several sports celebrities were used in public education
campaigns last year to raise awareness of health issues.
Fanelle
said the media interviews with the celebrities were handled
by Ogilvy PR Worldwide.
Other
celebrities used in campaigns were coach Bill Parcells and
quaterback Joe Montana for a high cholesterol awareness campaign;
an osteoporosis campaign by actress Rita Moreno, and a campaign,
featuring seven current major league baseball players, who
used Propecia, a hair growing drug, for a year.
Atlanta
Falcons coach Dan Reeves was also used as both an ad and PR
spokesperson for a new heart drug.
Norm
Ostrove, an official at the Food and Drug Administration's
division of drug marketing, advertising and commercials, said
the FDA has received no complaints about lack of disclosure
by celebrities working as spokespeople.
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