#725 Enlarged Peer Pressure

The scene in the commercial is hauntingly familiar. A group of men, or perhaps they’re called a herd, engaged in numerous sporting endeavors.
The first scene shows them deep sea fishing. There are five of them. They appear to be robust, happy, full of life, vim, and vinegar. The next scene shows beautiful scenery and a curving road. Around the bend comes that same group of men, laughing, obviously sharing that camaraderie only a group of bosomless buddies can share.
They point out scenery to one another like little kids, some echo of the time they collected frogs together down by the creek with Tom and Huck.
The next scene shows the same men, but this time they’re roaring down a river in kayaks, grabbing the world of whitewater by the roostertail and exulting in victory—oars held high and fists shaking in the air.
This is life.
And these are men.
But wait. Something about this commercial is odd.
You’re ready for the last scene. You expect all of them to be crowding into a tavern and ordering a round of Bud Lite.
But no, a strange word is flashing on the TV screen.
It’s... Can it be? Yes. It’s...
Flomax.
This isn’t a beer commercial at all. It’s a commercial for a drug to shrink your prostate gland. Oh no!
That explains the other thing you noticed about this ad that is only now registering—all these men are middle-aged. They all have glasses and thinning gray hair.
But where are their families? Why is this group of aging adolescents still out grab-assing with each other? Biking and fishing and kayaking? Where are the kids? Where’s the wife?
Oh, she’s home, probably nagging someone.
And that’s the real truth the drug companies understand. The wife’s been after the husband for years to do something about his benign prostate enlargement. But he won’t listen to her.
But if his buddies do it, well that’s a-okay. Take one for the team? You bet.
For a certain type of guy, the drug companies know how to sell product. Peer pressure for prostate shrinkage.
Hey guys, whaddaya say we go out and knock back a couple of Flomax?
America, ya gotta love it.