Consciousness is awareness of one’s thoughts and emotions, as well as perception of one’s surroundings and the world. People from different nations have distinct consciousness of various subject matters including politics, medicine, and social conscience. These differences are healthy, and they constitute an integral part of human nature. Nevertheless, Watters’ “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan” is an example of instances when differences in consciousness can raise a flag. In Watters’ story, while the Western conception of depression is a severe feeling of sadness and anxiety, many Japanese perceive depression as a simple disease that does not require much attention, which could lead to further health complications.
People from different
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In Japan, drug makers published advertisements in newspapers to “alter the environment in which anti-depressant drugs are or may be used…and promote the idea of depression as a common ailment” (Watters 524). As depression has been believed to be incurable, drug makers argued that this disease was equivalent to a cold of the soul or kokoro no kaze. They also published articles in magazines and included statistics showing how many Japanese suffered from depression. The articles asserted that depression has been ubiquitous just like colds. Sometimes, a medical company may extremely underestimate the effects of a disease that the population would think it does not require medication. This approach, in turn, leads to questioning the legitimacy of their actions and the real motives behind their advertisements. Companies must be aware of what and how they communicate to people, because by frequently exposing the public to a certain idea or concept, it becomes unconsciously ingrained in the public subconscious. The public perception of depression in Japan has led to severe consequences, including an increasing suicide rates, “lost man-hours and decreased productivity” (Watters 526). As suicide rates increased, drug makers embraced a difference approach, modified their advertisements, …show more content…
Drugs must be researched and tried clinically before being made available to the public. The GlaxoSmithKline drug makers claimed that depression was caused by low levels of serotonin in the brain and that SSRIs restore the balance of the brain chemistry. Furthermore, GlaxoSmithKline sponsored professional medical researchers and psychiatrists to research the effects of SSRIs, and rewarded researchers who found positive results, which is considered unethical and immoral in the world of pharmaceutics and medical research. As most findings proved SSRIs effective, GlaxoSmithKline executives viewed themselves as fighters of depression. However, Professor Applebaum from the University of Wisconsin states that these companies seemed to “believe their products were effective and they were baffled that anyone should question their value” (Watters 528). Nevertheless, the GlaxoSmithKline, after years of advertising depression medication, found out that no scientific evidence proved the link between depression and serotonin depletion, or the role of SSRIs in balancing the brain’s chemistry. Scientists found that SSRIs actually reshape the brain’s chemistry, which leads to the conclusion that these anti-depressant drugs should have not
In The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan by Ethan Watters, Watters proves one has no autonomy over one self’s well-being. One’s well-being is one’s state of happiness and satisfactory of existence. However, Watters confirms how the influence of culture’s principles and values evolves one’s own belief of well-being. Individuals are so heavy influenced by culture that they lose control of their own experiences. Subsequently, individuals lose the importance of thinking for one’s self. Watters explores the themes of conformity, impact of language, effect of social influence, and need to rely on experts. In The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan by Ethan Watters, Watters affirms that individuals assert their experiences on the foundation
GlaxoSmithKline had a hill to climb to change the experience of depression in Japan due to the stark differences in the experience of depression. But, the mega marketing efforts in Japan by GlaxoSmithKline were successful. Particularly, it was successful by using tools that were actually discussed in Gladwell’s work like the Stickiness Factor and The Law of a Few to advance its agenda. The stickiness factor came into play with the terminology of depression. The accepted term in Japan for depression was Ustbuyo which
Introduction: For my research project I would like to explore the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. Antidepressant drugs are used are used to treat major depression and other conditions, some of which include anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, chronic pain and other disorders. Around the world antidepressants are used to cure these types of mental illnesses. It is argued by both medical professionals and other people whether or not they believe that antidepressants work. According to Mayo Clinic one in ten Americans take an antidepressant. Today, antidepressants have became the most common way around the world to treat major depression
It is clear that most DTC advertisements in the pharmaceutical industry easily approach consumers and inject distorted information about drugs into them. DTC advertisements provide clarity in product performance claims, with less reliance on implied benefits (Beltramini 574). Furthermore, DTC advertisements have made a huge impact on public consciousness with constant exposure to their consumers and sell less effective drugs (Lurie 445). Consumers do not recognize the danger of ineffective drugs due to the embellishment of the marketing strategy. Zelnorm, a drug for women with irritable bowel syndrome, is an example of how a highly visible television advertising campaign makes this less effective drug popular. From a pharmaceutical company’s analysis, while 0.1 percent of patients treated with the drug had a heart attack, chest pain, or a stroke and one died, patients taking a placebo had 0.01 percent of these symptoms and none died. Despite inefficiency of the drug, it became a popular treatment for irritable bowel syndrome because of television advertisement campaign; it displays attractive young women whose bellies are inscribed with the catchphrase, "I feel better" (Shuchman 2239). The reason that ineffective drugs, such as Zelnorm, became popular is because most people who have not enough knowledge to evaluate drugs
The dominant biomedical model of health does not take into consideration lay perspectives (SITE BOOK). Lay perspectives go into detail about ordinary people’s common sense and personal experiences. A cultural perspective, like the Hmong cultures perspective on health, is considered a lay perspective. Unlike the Hmong culture, where illness is viewed as the imbalance between the soul and the body, the dominant biomedical model of health views health in terms of pathology and disease (SITE THE BOOK). Although the Hmong culture considers spiritual and environmental factors, the dominant biomedical model of health only looks at health through a biological perspective, and neglects the environment and psychological factors that affect health. Depression in the U.S. is a medical illness caused by neurochemical or hormonal imbalance and certain styles of thinking. Depression is the result of unfortunate experiences that the brain has difficulties processing (SITE 7). Unlike the Hmong culture, where Hmong’s who are diagnosed with depression report the interaction between a spirit, people diagnosed with depression in the Western culture report themselves to having symptoms such as feeling tired, miserable and suicidal (SITE
Within my group’s pro-Adderall campaign, we promoted adderall use among high school students who were struggling with a relatively poor attention span, inability to focus, and were thus unproductive in their schoolwork. We created a video commercial that follows the same tactics pharmaceutical advertisements used, described in Dumit’s Drugs for Life. Dumit emphasized how ambiguous pharmaceutical ads were in order to reach a broader audience, and reinforced that all people experienced the stated symptoms to some extent. The companies only needed a small fraction of the viewers to self-diagnose themselves and purchase the product. Likewise, we targeted students that were experiencing heavier workloads coming into high school, and understood that the majority would struggle in maintaining attention throughout long hours of lectures and worksheets. We used this strategy and targeted all students, both a male and female, in the video since in this period in history it would be offensive if we directed the ad specifically towards males, following the stereotype of the “problematic boy”.
Just how serious is depression? Should it be as innocent as a cartoon? Many Americans battle with depression day to day. The ad is Abilify is a well-known drug commercial partially because of the animated talking pill and the serious and fatal side effects associated with this drug. This ad is ironic because it uses animation to water-down the life threatening side effects, which are revealed. Depression used to be a taboo subject it was a “ hush-hush” topic that no one talked about because it is seemly embarrassing. In fact mental disorders in general are is a topic that like to “tip toe” over and the ad Abilify sheds light to this controversial topic. Otsuka America Pharmaceutical commercial ad “Abilify”. This ad functions an oxymoron,
A pharmaceutical company called GlaxoSmithKline was trying to market their antidepressant medication in Japan when there was no interest at the time. However, through a shrewd effort of creating a need for such a substance through what is known as mega marketing, GlaxoSmithKline was able to alter that. What it did first was, it helped reshape the definition of depression in Japan from Utsubyo to Kokoro no Kaze which means a cold of the soul (Watters, 524). This change in terminology reduced the stigma behind having this illness since it was viewed as a cold, which most people contract at some point in their lives. Furthermore, GlaxosmithKline created advertisements promoting the use of their medication and helped to establish news articles that touched upon the serious nature of depression. Not only that, but GlaxoSmithKline helped to translate American books about depression into Japanese in order to continue their mega marketing campaign. Incredulously, the average viewer would not have known how much behind the scenes work GlaxoSmithKline was doing. There was even an advocacy group for depression funded by GlaxoSmithKline (Watters, 525). Not only was the media influenced by GlaxoSmithKline but so was the medical professionals in Japan. So much so that Kalman Applbaum, an anthropologist who gave advice to
http://drkaplan.co.uk/2012/01/homeopathy/antidepressants-evidence-and-our-%E2%80%98brave-new-world%E2%80%99. Smith, Nicole. A.
Antidepressants are a prescription drug now used by people of all ages. They have become a part of society, therefore, taking antidepressants is not frowned upon. Antidepressants are used to make people feel “happier” and not to feel sadness. This is shown in the dystopian society in the book Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley in 1932. In that society the people use soma, a well-known drug, to make them feel no pain and are conditioned to think soma fixes everything. Helmholtz and Bernard two main characters, do not take it because they want to be able to see the world for what it is. They also do not want soma to change how they feel; they want to appreciate nature. In addition Lenina and Henry love taking soma because then they cannot feel any pain, they are just happy all the time. In our society, people think that antidepressants will make them feel no pain and that these medications will fix all of their problems. Antidepressants have a negative impact on society today as well as in the book Brave New World.
Sharpe, Katherine. “Medication: The Smart-pill Oversell.” Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science. Nature Publishing Group. 12 Feb. 2014. Web. 7 March 2014.
The first major study conducted on the matter in the United states found that St John’s wort had negligible benefits on patients with major depression with no statistically significant benefits more then those produced by a placebo (Shelton). However other studies have “proved”, not only that St. John’s Wort is more successful in treatment of patients with depression, but that It is actually similarly or more effective than some tri-cyclic prescription antidepressants (Linde). The apparent contradictions in research findings are confusing and provide little help to a patient or doctor in deciding whether to use St John’s Wort as a treatment for depression.
The case under analysis, Eli Lilly & Company, will be covering the positives and negatives with regards to the business situation and strategy of Eli Lilly. One of the major pharmaceutical and health care companies in its industry, Lilly focused its efforts on the areas of "drug research, development, and marketed to the following areas: neuroscience, endocrinology, oncology, cardiovascular disease, and women's health." Having made a strong comeback in the 1990's due to its remarkably successful antidepressant Prozac, was now facing a potential loss in profits with its patent soon to expire. The problem was not only the soon to expire patent on Prozac, but the fact that Prozac accounted for as much as 30% of total revenue was the reality Eli Lilly now faced. (Pearce & Robinson, 34-1)
... soon be the next largest killer following heart disease by the year 2020 and studies confirm depression is a contributing factor to deadly coronary illness. Depression is one of the most advanced problems and killers of our time.
However, in relation to human psychology, culture is part of humans’ everyday life. Matsumoto (2002) said that 'culture played as basic and important a role in understanding and contributing to human beh...