ASA clears 'fake drugs' warning ad showing man regurgitating rat

An ad campaign warning about the risks of buying fake medicine on the internet, featuring a man regurgitating a rat, has been cleared by the advertising watchdog despite more than 60 complaints. The cinema ad campaign, by the pharmaceuticals firm Pfizer – the maker of Viagra – showed a man swallowing a pill in his kitchen. Shortly afterwards, he reached into his mouth and slowly pulled a whole dead rat out by the tail.

A voiceover stated: "Rat poison. Just one of the dangerous ingredients that may be found in fake medicines purchased from illegal websites. Get real. Get a prescription." The Advertising Standards Authority received 64 complaints about the ad. Most complainants objected that the ad was "unduly distressing", while 12 argued it was offensive. Seven complainants said it was misleading as legally prescribed drugs also contained dangerous ingredients.

Pfizer said it ran the ad campaign because there had been a large increase in counterfeit medicines seized at European Union borders in the past two years. The company added that it estimated that between 50% and 90% of prescription-only medicines purchased from unregulated websites were counterfeit or substandard.



Pfizer, which said that the ad aimed to raise awareness of a "potentially life-threatening issue", launched the campaign in conjunction with bodies such as the Patients Association and Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. The ad, which was based on the case of a woman who died in 2006 after taking contaminated medicines that were bought online, only ran in cinemas showing 15-rated films.

In its ruling, the ASA said that the ad did show images that some people might find offensive or distressing. However, the watchdog concluded that viewers were "unlikely to infer" that only medicines bought from unregulated sources contained dangerous ingredients.

The ASA added that it did not consider the ad would cause "undue fear and distress" to people who took prescribed drugs that contained potentially dangerous ingredients. "Because the ad was designed to highlight an important issue, the dangers of which could result in damage to health or fatality, we considered the metaphor of regurgitating a rat was likely to justify, for most people, the approach," the watchdog said.