The U.S. Congress House committee on energy and commerce in taking a closer look at Pfizer's advertisement for Lipitor that was endorsed by Robert Jarvik.
Jarvik, inventor of the artificial heart is featured in the ad wearing a white doctor's coat and saying "I'm glad I take Lipitor, as a doctor and as a dad." The final shot of the ad has Jarvik rowing across a lake implying health and vigor.
The problems that caught the committee's attention are numerous.
The first being that Jarvik is not qualified to practice medicine and therefore not a medical doctor, though he implies he is in the ad. Secondly, Jarvik was replaced by a stunt double in the scene on the lake because he does not know how to row. Only shots on the dock were actually of Jarvik. Most importantly Jarvik announced last week that he was not actually taking Lipitor at the time the commercial was shot.
The controversy as to whether prescription drugs should be "pimped" in commercials has long been an issue. Critics believe that doctors, and not seductive commercials, are best suited to decide appropriate treatments. This has lead the Committee to send off a letter to Pfizer demanding the details of the contractual relationship the company has with Jarvik, who was paid $1.35 million for his acting job.
[Source: The Guardian]
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