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With Ads of the Weird, MSNBC.com takes a look at some of the oddest, most eye-catching, controversial and just plain interesting advertising out there today. Primary writer Allison Linn covers the retail and advertising industries for MSNBC.com. The Ads of the Weird team is always interested in hearing what ads have caught your attention, whether it's online, on television or in print.


Hepatitis how-to’s

Posted: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 3:00 AM by Rob Neill
Filed Under: ,

In general, offers that begin with a “Have you ever wondered?” or “Have you ever wanted to?” make us immediately go “no” and move on.

But we were more than a little intrigued with an ad we stumbled over on the Web asking, “Trying to catch hepatitis C? Not sure where to start?” Not particularly. Wait -- what?

The animated spot features a little doodle of a guy, who evidently is named Dennis. An onscreen narrator asks the question (at the time Dennis -- obviously highly-motivated -- is licking the jagged rim of a tin can) and offers some ... er ... helpful information on ways he could have already caught it. These include, but are not limited to, sharing a razor, getting a tattoo and spending a holiday doing drugs and listening to techno music. (We pause at this point to remind all our readers that if you or someone you care about listens to techno, get help immediately.)

hepatitisday.info

The message, of course is, that seemingly mundane things you’ve done may put you at risk for the disease. And since there aren’t any symptoms, get tested. In the end Dennis does, and a buzzer turns red for his test results. He looks happy, then dejected. We couldn’t figure out whether that meant he was happy he was positive, unhappy he was negative, happy he was positive until he considered the ramifications … or … well, we’re just sure we don’t want hepatitis. In addition to the severe medical implications, it could possibly lead to this.

The cartoon (and a game on the site featuring Dennis that we were too lame to finish) calls attention to the more serious matter of World Hepatitis Awareness Day. It’s Oct. 1. What, not on your Outlook calendar? Ours neither, we just checked. It obviously targets a non-U.S. audience, since understanding that silliness can drive home a serious message isn’t really the strong suit of a country where Jim Carrey is so overwhelmingly popular. (Yes, we know he’s actually Canadian.).

There is good information on the site. It’s worth a quick spin, if not more.

See the ad here.

World Hepatitis Awareness Day site is here.

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Comments

Joking about Hep?  That's not right.....

Yellowman, Orange County CA (Sent Tuesday, September 25, 2007 1:16 PM)

My husband died at age 45 from hepatitis C nearly 5 years ago, which he contracted from a blood transfusion he had as a teenager.  The ad is in horrible taste.

AJ, Sacramento, CA (Sent Tuesday, September 25, 2007 2:01 PM)

I agree humour is not something you'd normally associate with a potentially fatal virus, and I sympathise with the loss of your husband. However a dry straightforward video about the risk factors is going to struggle to get attention, and would probably never feature on a site like this. If it takes off the wall humour to get an important message across then so be it.  

Jay, Australia (Sent Tuesday, September 25, 2007 7:23 PM)

I get the jist of the message  - you can get Hepatitus from very mundane experiences; not just the one most people associate with contracting it.  But, the way they try to get the message across is very clumsy.  

I don't think they were being insensitive to those affected with the disease but, from the responses so far, it only seems to have got the attention of folks all to aware of the disease.

Cj Kirkland Wash (Sent Tuesday, September 25, 2007 7:42 PM)

Satire: from the word satura, meaning a mixed bowl of fruit. I used to explain it to my students this way: you mix the sweet (humor) in with the bitter, to make your point.
It is sad and I am sorry for your losses, but if a silly, satiric cartoon can save ONE person from making a mistake, it's totally worth it, don't you think?

Marcia Barton Prairieville LA (Sent Tuesday, September 25, 2007 8:59 PM)

What an absolutely HORRIBLE "Cartoon", would you joke about Cancer, AIDS or MS? I am appalled!

Melissa, Cleveland Ohio (Sent Tuesday, September 25, 2007 9:11 PM)

I have chronic hepatits C (genotype 1).

I've relapsed twice. I'm 33. I've had it my whole life, from transfusions that I got the day I was born.

Joke about it? Not for me.

Be aware. It can and does kill. And yes, it may drive home the point that very mundane activities can cause transmission.  But I'm not a fan of how that message is portrayed.

Anyone who has any risk factors (particularly those with blood transfusions or blood products) before 1992 in the USA should be tested.

Erin, Ohio (Sent Tuesday, September 25, 2007 9:26 PM)

I'm more offended by the tasteless and totally unrelated link to the site suggesting that ravers be killed. What's the point of that?   The cartoon is cute and drives the point home- that any number of things could cause people to get hepatitis, many of which people would never think of.

Chris, Oberlin, OH (Sent Tuesday, September 25, 2007 10:58 PM)

sometimes for those who don't have it, you have to introduce it in a certain way......obviously this ad is for those who don't have it but definitely need to be educated, because who didn't know some of these things....

deb,vegasnevada (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 12:49 AM)

I got Hep C nearly thirty years ago in a transfusion after an accident. Five years ago I was cured with PEG-Interferon and ribavirin. I still suffer memory loss and neurological problems from the treatment. The idea is to make people aware of it so they don't get it. I didn't have a chance. I got my transfusion more than ten years before there was a test for it in the blood supply. The only way to really win against this disease is not to get it. Don't tell me about offensive-if it spreads the word, who cares?

David San Francisco CA (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 1:54 AM)

so the message is, doing lines of coke or roller skating behind a car is safer than borrowing a toothbrush . . . interesting

toni (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 1:57 AM)

this message throws you off.  Hepatitis isn't funny but they're treating it as such.  Drug addiction isn't funny but I bet everyone can remember that commercial where the girl destroyed the kitchen.  That's the point of the ad.  It catches your attention.  And the point is, no one wants Hepatitis but even small everyday activities can transmit it.

Mindy, escondido, california (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 2:46 AM)

One of the best videos about Hepatitis C that I have seen in quite awhile!

PeachStatePam (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 4:43 AM)

The animation looks like a Don Hertzfeldt ripoff, only sanitized for our "safety." Ah, leave it to corporate America...

thewatcher (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 5:46 AM)

I'm sorry for your loss AJ. some people have a different sense of humor towards this kind of thing. i found the article and the cartoon on the website to be extremely informative and an easy read.

with all due respect, if your husband had read this before his illness occurred, he may still be around today. there's alot of ways to get the disease i was not informed of and if i hadn't read the article i wouldn't know about many of them. i applaud this article for the informative, somewhat humorous, way of keeping society safe from the hell that was the last few moments of your husbands' life.

but regardless of it all, thinking it was made to make fun of your husband or those affected by the disease, it was not. it was made to inform of the risks out there to help keep the healthy conscious safe from the ones out there who are infected. it also shows those infected how to not spread the disease. BRAVO!

TRE, HBG, PA (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 11:34 AM)

I think the ad could have been done better but I do agree that "straight foward" meassages no longer catch the attention of the public and are viewed more as a church sermon or a boring lecture. It is sad but if the ad is actually going to get the peoples attention than victims or their family's should be more understanding. After all, an ad like that might actually save another member or their family.

Grace, Miami, Fl (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 11:52 AM)

As a member of the population with no fatal communicable diseases, I'm offended. It's all Bush's fault. He ordered Dick Cheney to release Hepatitis C on an unsuspecting population through an infected Pamela Anderson, and now he's trying to offend everyone with this ad. All so he can further his vast right-wing conspiracy and unjust war so he can feast on Iraqi babies in the White House kitchen. Skull and Bones!

J, USA (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 12:41 PM)

I found out I had hep c after donating blood at work.I thought itwas a mistake.After all I just had a baby and had all types of bloodwork done.You have to have a specific test or they wont find it.It has been eleven years now and I thought I would never be symptomatic.However thats not the case. I have been battling liver cancer for 2 years now, and my liver functions test still come back ok.Dont be like me. Take the treatment for hep c if its offered whether you are symptomatic or not.As for the cartoon being offensive,I think any information is good information. In fact I need to remove my razor from the shower now as my daughter is beginning to ask if she can shave her legs. I never thought about that until I saw this story.Thanks

Susan Smith Phila. Pa. (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 12:45 PM)

As an uninformed member of society who previously had no interest in getting tested or learning any more about this disease - I have to admit that this caught my attention and did the trick.  I am not saying that people who have lost friends and loved ones will appreciate the method... but it's already worked once - on me. I have forwarded the link on to a number of people at work already. And when I get home tonight... I will show it to my daughter and be able to open a much more comfortable discussion - like we used to be able to with Joan of Arcadia. I used to think it was easy to talk to a teenager - when I was one...

CH, West Lafayette, IN (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 1:13 PM)

First, I think it draws a lot of attention to the cause which is the number one reason for this commercial.  Secondly, I believe this is geared towards a younger crowd such as college and high school students.  Finally, I think with the target audience in mind, I really believe that the commerical and website are great tools.

JKM, Englewood Colorado (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 2:52 PM)

Fantastic message, I am sending it to all the HCV Support Groups I know. Early diagnosis and treatment greatly increases the chance of viral clearence. Informed carriers of the virus are less likely to spread it. To you that are offended, do a better job! I living with the disease am not offended by anyone efforting to help. The longer someone has HCV without detection the harder it is to treat, the more likely life threatening complications occur, and the greater the probability of inocently spreading the virus becomes. HCV does not directly kill, the damge to the liver does.

Roy Jeffers, High Point, North Carolina (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 5:36 PM)

My best friend had hep-c for 30 years and never knew it until he developed liver cancer and passed away 7 years ago. The next time I had a physical I asked the doctor to check for hep-c and it came back positive. I'm hesitant to try the Interferon treatment because of the side affects (even less so after reading some of the comments here), so I'm trying to treat it with Milk Thistle, which has no side affects.

Mike Martin,Spring Hill, FL. (Sent Wednesday, September 26, 2007 8:42 PM)

I got Hepatitis A once from eating raw oysters.  Not fun.
-Robert Schetty

Rob Schetty, Syosset, NY (Sent Thursday, September 27, 2007 1:49 PM)

oh its always funny to make fun of the weak the ugly the retarted kid  the sick and the poor. could"nt you figure out a different cartoon? hep - c is no joke about it.

thomas phila pa (Sent Thursday, September 27, 2007 4:37 PM)

hep c is cureable my father has had it since the 70's from a blood transfusion and has been on an expiermentla hep c drug he has 18 weeks left at last test he had no signs of hep c what so ever

Lucian Overlord (Sent Monday, October 01, 2007 11:55 PM)

Treatment can work - the earlier the better. Mike Martin - DON'T WAIT. I've been clear for 3 years now. I personally know of 4 other people who have also cleared the virus with current treatments. Milk thistle will offer some protection for your liver but it will not treat the disease. It was tough but I made it and you can too. And who cares how anyone contracted HepC or any other disease? Even though I'm no fan of Pam Anderson, it must be hard to be in the public eye with such a stigmitized disease. I'd suggest anyone who makes fun of another's disease, think about walking in their shoes.

RM, Phoenix, AZ (Sent Tuesday, October 02, 2007 4:59 PM)

I had Hep C for 30 years without knowing it, until I had Galbladder surgery, recieved a transplant and since have gone throuth pegatron treatment for the infection in my new liver. I only wish that this ad had been put many years ago but of course they wouldn't have had the treatment then.  I feel very bad for the loss of your husband but I feel the ad does a service.

Linda Fallis North Bay, On. (Sent Sunday, October 07, 2007 10:42 PM)

The ad is terrible, but I hope someone in my generation, a group known to share the most offensive and stupid things with one another with almost fanantical glee, will actually learn something.  I'm sure who ever had this awful idea thought it was the only way to get through to the you-tube crowd.  I also have seen a very dear friend suffer, someone with the wrong genetics for the only treatment currently available.  She tried it before they had a test to see if it would work, so she went through a lot of pain for no benefit.  She would have hated this ad.

Tales b (Sent Wednesday, October 10, 2007 1:24 AM)

Did you know the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) causes genital warts and 80% of the cervical cancers until the Giardisil commercials came out?  It took a vaccine commercial to make it fore-front in the public eye, so how is this different?  It's just making people aware of the hazards and risks involved who may not know.  How they do it may be in poor taste, but if it helps a few hundred people avoid the disease then it has done the job.  

Lisa, Germantown, MD (Sent Wednesday, October 10, 2007 10:42 AM)

How is this "joking" about Hepatitis? Never once does it make light of it, or demean the people with the disease. Just because the ad isn't all doom and gloom, super serious, "GET TESTED NOW", it's suddenly offensive? Give me a break. This ad, and its uniqueness, has already done it's job, it's spread awareness and promoted prevention. Anyone familiar with the disease should appreciate that, instead of becoming automatically offended because it's not deathly serious.

Percy Allen (Sent Saturday, October 13, 2007 11:37 AM)

I got Hep-C from a tattoo in 2003. I started the interferon treatment in mid '04 and made it thru the year of self administered shots and pills ( doctor supervised ). It was the toughest thing I've ever had to do, but it most likely saved my life, or at least extended it. The fevers and fatigue combined with the depression which is also a side effect of the treatment almost killed me. I went from 190lbs. to 142 lbs. in the year of treatment.
My doctor warned me that the social and personal effects would be hard also. He correctly predicted that I could lose my job ( I did ) lose my girlfriend of 16 years ( I did) and lose the friends I had ( I did ). Because of the fatigue, fevers and severe migraines, I could not work a regular schedule. My bosses put up with it for a while, then got rid of me. Because of her fear of getting infected, my girlfriend found it impossible to have sex with me, eventually we grew distant and then separate. My friends began to treat me like a leper, not really wanting me around at all. After clearing the virus to undetectable level ( the best one can hope for ) thanks be to God, and a period of three years now, I still have terrible fatigue and depression and memory problems. Two points: Whatever the means, any message that helps people to avoid getting Hep-C or detect the infection early is good. Secondly and not mentioned often is the cost of treatment; about $4,000 each month for meds alone, add in doctor fees, and I went thru $60,000 in a year. If I hadn't had insurance I would probably be dead or close to it by now.
Hep-C is going to be an epidemic of huge proportions in the near future as people begin to get tested and find that for any one of a lot of reasons, they are infected.
Everyone who reads this and thinks that there is even a small chance that they have Hep-c, please get tested and if possible go thru the treatment, despite its side effects, it can save your life, and don't waste your time on things like milk-thistle if you are infected, only the real treatment works!

Tim Nash, West Palm Beach, Florida (Sent Monday, October 15, 2007 9:13 AM)

I got Hep-C while I was in the army in 1973, a tattoo in Mexico. I didn't find out until 2004 I had it. I don't really care, my son died 3 years ago from cancer.He was 19 and died from (non-hodgkins lymphoma)just after I was diagnosed. It was the treatment for cancer that killed him, not the cancer. Don't be fooled into thinking that we have miracles that are available.These doctors still rattle their gourds and beat their drums.they are just after insurance money anyway. There was no dignity only suffering and pain in the way my son died.I don't have any pain or symptoms, I am in my fifties now and I will drink and ride my HD scooter and enjoy the life I have left and when it is time I will die just like everyone else will. I just won't be in a nursing home having the insurance and medicade or medicare sucked out of me to pay some fat happy overpaid doctor that could care less.

M.Berry Oklahoma City (Sent Tuesday, October 30, 2007 4:13 PM)

My Mother-in-Law was diagnosed with Hep C while living in Florida and was told to get her affairs in order since she was going to die.  We moved her in with us in Phoenix and got her to a good doctor and they put her on the treatment. She was 70 when she started it and 1 year later she was showing free of the disease with (thankfully) very mild side effects.  It is worth trying regardless of what age you are.  It has been almost 5 years and she is doing great.

Sheri, Phoenix AZ (Sent Friday, December 07, 2007 7:59 PM)

 It seems to me that people would be more compasion with others about this desease. My close friend got stuck at working at hospital and now 3 month later she is very sick with the c. I find that it is taking a severe mental toll on her and for people to think of it as joke is sicking to me. One day you will have a trajedy and you will always remember this you read , and say why did I do something so stupid. I pray you all along with your familys.

friend , from tampa fl (Sent Tuesday, April 29, 2008 1:29 PM)



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