An Internet video ad for the Pfizer impotence pill was tagged by the FDA for failing to include the necessary info about the risk of heart attacks or vision loss. In an
April 16 letter to the drugmaker, the FDA writes the video ad that appeared on CNN.com "raises public health and safety concerns through its complete omission of risk information for Viagra by suggesting that Viagra is safer than has been demonstrated."The ad was a 30-second video that featured a group of musicians in a Nashville recording studio as they sang the 'Viva Viagra' song, and ends with a voiceover telling people to talk to their doc. Although the ad began with a superimposed image telling viewers to "see the important safety information on this page," the safety info didn't appear in the CNN video or a copy that Pfizer sent to the FDA last month.
A Pfizer spokesman sends us this statement: "Due to a technical error by the website, the safety information contained in a companion banner complementing the video was not displayed as instructed. Pfizer discovered the error, notified the website of the error, and our understanding was that the website corrected its error immediately. In an effort to ensure this type error does not occur again, Pfizer has pulled all Internet-based video advertisements featuring the :30 second Viva Viagra spots which require a companion banner with the appropriate risk information to simultaneously appear with the video."
A CNN spokesman confirms the technical mishap.