Absolutely. It is just amazing to watch TV and see that every single commercial is for a drug. Does anyone wonder why drugs cost so much in this country? And why so many people are so sick? I'd love to see ads for improving your diet and getting exercise, both of which will cure a lot of those advertised ills.

In all of the TV ads for drugs, I would rather have the ailment than risk the side effects of the drugs.

According to what I heard on Zorba Paster on Your Health last weekend, there are only two countries that allow pharmaceutical ads (I don't recall the country other than the USA). He made the point that drugs would be much, much cheaper if the drug companies didn't advertise.

As to getting older people to tout dishwashing detergent, etc: I think the companies probably have enough research to back up my own observation. I have used the same liquid dishwashing soap since 1977, the same shampoo since 1990, the same vanilla since 1955, etc. There isn't much that they can sell me except a car and cars I buy based on what Consumer Report and Car Talk tell me about model specifications and consumer experiences. We elders are not a prime market for most consumables. Of course, I avoid/ignore ads about over-the-counter medicinals and body ointments of all kinds, like the plague!!!

I don't know about that, Cop Car.

Crabby Old Lady buys whatever major-brand dish detergent is on sale; the very cheapest brands are too dilute to save any money.

She shops similarly for laundry detergent as long as it works in cold water.

All her life Crabby has changed brands of shampoo about every four or five months. She doesn't know why, but after that period of time they seem to not work so well.

She doesn't care what the brand of deoderant is as long as it is a solid and doesn't contain a fragrance.

She will admit to using the same obscure brand of bath soap for decades, but it doesn't bother her much to buy another when it's not on the shelf.

And as to vanilla, salt, sugar and other staples, whatever the house brand is suits Crabby fine as it is always a few cents cheaper.

Crabby is not unique enough to be alone in this behavior, so there may be a good number of elders ripe for persuasion.

Agree with you, Ronni. I am also sick (& never really sick) of phony "aimed at seniors" ads which tell me to take this or that medicine, then they list all the side effects. The listing of side effects is like a teasing taunt aimed at seniors.

"Go ahead and take this pill, suckers, then see what else happens to your aging ass. See, the truth is.. we don't want you around, so bye bye."

I will be 65 tomorrow and am absolutely healthy. I take NO medication, my teeth are in good shape. I don't smoke, drink, do drugs or fool around with other guys. I am fit. I cycle, inline skate, work part time on 2 jobs, walk, kayak, camp and dance.

My gyn doctor says I have bone density of a 20 year old. So either I am a freak of nature at 65, or there are millions of others out there just like or better than me.

We are healthy seniors with plans and the ability to achieve them. I hate and loathe the way seniors are portrayed in the media. One of my gardening customers said she hired some teens to do her weeding, but they showed up late, were exhausted after one hour and quit.

There are millions of healthy, willing and able seniors out there.

Advertisers, open your greedy Madison Avenue eyes and pay us a visit.

We'll kick your "inside the box" arses with our capabilities.

Somewhere within the environmental Al Gore crusade, there is a place for seniors- in terms of listening, implementing and balancing the need for ALL generations RIGHT NOW.

Tomorrow I will get my senior bus pass! Can't wait!

There are some perks to being 65 plus.

Background cues Elvis singing 'If I Can Dream." (1968 comeback special)

Advertising symptoms has probably created a lot of hypochondriacs. On a night when I'm tired and achey from a myriad of activities, I sit in front of the TV and think, "maybe I have that..." "I bet I have that..." By the end of my relaxing evening I feel near death and irresponsible that I'm not taking all the drugs that could cure me.

Then I go to bed, with my mom's advice ringing in my memory, "You'll feel better after a good night's sleep." Miraculously I wake up feeling much better! (Although I often take a sleeping pill...ah, the ironies of being honest.)

More....

After I posted the comment, I realized that the commercials I exampled are for older people, so not surprising they would feature that demographic.

Off the top of my head, I cannot think of a commercialized product meant for broad range of ages that does use elder spokepersons...

Boy, Ronni, you struck a chord with that article.

Drug ads are on TV because they work. Not the drugs, but the ads. When people start telling me about the drugs they are taking, I just excuse myself and walk away.

Here are The Captain's rules for staying as healthy as you can (this is not new news to anyone here...)

- Lift Weights.
- Walk a mile or more a day, not on a treadmill - outside!
- Don't have a pet? If you like animals rescue one. You will feel so good about yourself, and we forget about our problems when we are taking care of others...
- Stay the hell off simple sugars! Don't eat candy, and don't eat 'white foods'. Eat fats and proteins. Steak and Salad. ;-> Eggs for breakfast, toss out the toaster.
- Eat NOTHING after 6:00 at night. No snacking. You will be amazed at how little heartburn you will have. (Take tums if you do get heartburn. They are harmless.)
- Yoga! Or some other form of keeping your back limber. Pay particular attention to reverse back stretches - as we age we 'cave forward', returning to the fetal. It does hurt at first! But it gets easier...
- Breath of Fire every morning at sunrise! (Fill your lungs completely, then expel the air in several sharp blasts right down to the point where your lungs are EMPTY!)
- Get up and walk out of the room when those drug ads come on the box. Better yet, turn off the box and grab a book, write a letter, plant a seed you'll feel better (partly plagiarized from that lovely poem "Dust if you Must")

There. Now you will live to be 100. (Not. You want to live to be 100? Find parents that live to be 100... But it ain't how many years, its how you lived them...)

Cap'n Jan

I tend to not buy anything based on tv advertising. Like was mentioned above, I find a product I like and I stick with it because I don't want to be bothered reading labels and figuring out something new in the store. For dishwashing I have one that doesn't make my hands break out and that's good enough for me. Same with shampoos. One agrees with my scalp and I don't care how silky my hair might look with another one.

What irks me the most are the drug advertisements. They used to not allow that and I don't think they should. I would like to think my doctor keeps up on the best drug for an individual problem... Yep, I'd like to think that.

Ronni: as if those ads aren't insulting enough as noted in Chuck's post, we are constantly inundated with information about improving our health & acquiring all manner of "stuff" to make life more enjoyable as we live to 100 years! Enough already. Who are these people who find it necessary to tell me, ad nauseum, how to live my life. It's enough to make a person ill! LOL! Dee

Hi Crabby,
I had some of the same thoughts recently when I wanted to choose a new hair style. Out of hundreds of photos there was only one with grey hair and NONE wearing glasses. So I've started my own website as an online hair catalogue for women who choose grey in all shades. I realize this isn't exactly the same as your concern, but it is along the same lines. We are not some set- apart sickly set.

Blessings,
Sharry

How about the Hover-round invented by some guy named Tom Cruise?
The baby boomers (my age group), who were supposed to be so smart, have pretty much turned out to be morons after all. That is why there are so many commercials about anti-aging. It will be humorous when they all end up looking like Joan Rivers. Stupidity is cool.