Just as the U.S. is getting ready to sell the diet drug Xenical (orlistat) over the counter, Australia is pulling the plug on allowing manufacturer Roche to advertise the prescription-only drug to consumers.
Seems the company was targeting teens by advertising on the popular "Australian Idol" show and, according to the The National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (the Aussie version of the FDA), was thereby encouraging people to take the drug who really don't need it.
Since it works so well anyway. I'm anxious to see what the TV ads for Alli, the new OTC form of Xenical, will look like. If the flash movie that opens their website is any indication, they're going to try and sell us with reverse psychology.
Instead of telling us what Alli will do for us, the movie that opens as you click on the Alli website asks if you're up for the challenge, if you're willing to change, if you're ready to make the commitment to alli--because you can't just try it, you have to commit to it.
In other words, they don't promise Alli is going to do anything for you (or at least anything that doesn't involve the words "oily discharge" -- eeeeuuuuwww), but they imply that if you haven't lost weight before, it is just because you haven't been willing to work hard, make a commitment, and do what it takes. I'm surprised the word "willpower" didn't show up in there somewhere.
Arggghhh. I'm gonna be complaining about this a lot. I apologize in advance.
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