At this time of year parents and grandparents are under constant bombardment to buy for Christmas and the marketing is ruthless and clever – often using favourite cartoon and tv characters. However, I did think there was one that was safe from this persuasion by well-loved characters and that was in the drug industry. Well, not any more. Pharmaceutical reps working for the drug company AstraZeneca, have been urged to used popular Disney characters to promote psychiatric drugs to children.
What A A Milne would think is anyone’s guess, but some of Winnie the Pooh’s best-loved friends have been rebranded to promote sales of Seroquel, an antipsychotic. Tigger apparently is now described as “bipolar” and poor old Eeyore – who has quite enough to worry about – is apparently described as suffering from “depression”. Presumably the Hundred Acre Wood has also been stripped of all plant life to make new and better drugs.
