It’s not because they work (please, let’s not go there). It’s the economy. When a recession walks in the door, the networks hike up their skirts. These ads would have never aired when the economy was good.
In the past, CNN and the upper-tier cable networks, especially the news networks, consistently refused to air ads like Enzyte because they know they’re selling packaged lies. But when advertising from established companies with legitimate products dries up, you’ve got to fill up the ad space with something.
Enzyte is particularly savvy at using the media. First, they’ve made a supplement look like a drug. Under FDA rules drug companies have to list their chemical compositions. For example, Viagra’s got to print “Sildenafil Citrate” under its brand name, usually in parentheses.
Well, Enzyte lists their chemical composition, too. “Suffragium Asotas.” Only problem is, there’s no such chemical. In fact, Suffragium is Latin for “Applause.” Perfect, for a company trying to give us a standing ovation.
You’d think there’d be stiff penalties for mounting an ad campaign of this sort. But Enzyte isn’t a drug so the FDA can’t touch it.
Enzyte’s marketing is brilliant. They’re not in sleazy tabloids. They’re in legitimate magazines like Business Week. They’re not on raunchy TV shows like Maury Povich. They’re on serious cable channels like CNN and MSNBC.
It’s pure genius. While the rest of the male enhancement industry is spamming our email with big promises, Enzyte is doing what a lot of dot.commers did in the mid-nineties: “borrowing” legitimacy from the media. Remember all those million dollar Super Bowl ads from companies that couldn’t meet payroll?
Men have always had a preoccupation with growing a certain body part. But it’s always been held in check by the absurdity of the proposition. Deep down, we know we might as well try to grow our livers.
A while ago a search engine reported that Enzyte was close to passing Viagra in its “most frequent” search logs. I wish every time a man used a search engine and typed “supplement” they’d get back a response that said, Did You Mean to Type “Swindle?”
