The first thing that popped into my mind when I started to read this article in the New York Times (username/password: wrreaders) was the new marketing campaign by Sony Ericsson.

Sony Ericsson is placing actors and actresses in strategic locations, such as bars and tourist areas, and having them pose as normal members of the public to promote the new Sony Ericsson phone. I find the idea innovative, amusing and unsettling at the same time. It blurs the edges between reality and the fantasy of acting and marketing in a way that I’m not sure I’m entirely comfortable with. I mean, if I had been holding an interesting conversation with a stranger somewhere, and suddenly they started sneaking in references to how great their new mobile phone was on behalf of Sony Ericsson, I think I would feel a little stupid and a little betrayed.

I have somewhat the same feeling towards celebrities appearing on talk shows ostensibly as guests but actually in the role of the star of a "hidden" commercial. The tales of their health-related woes may be true, but the set-up still seems too much like a deception. Product placement in a T.V. show or movie is one thing, because you just assume that the show has received money for it. Or if it’s clear from the outset that a particular celebrity is working together with a particular drug company to raise awareness for a particular health issue or a particular drug, then I think, okay, fair enough.

But to sneak in references to a brand-name prescription drug - without ever disclosing that the company that makes the drug is paying you to do so - seems more than a bit underhanded to me. I’m not saying that awareness programs or celebrity promotion are a bad thing. But a bit more "transparency" would be appreciated.

And because the amount that pharmaceutical companies spend on marketing was mentioned in the article, I cannot resist saying this: if drug companies are spending $2.7 billion a year on advertising their most profitable prescription drugs and are spending only half that amount on research and development, I wish to God that they would quit crying "poor mouth" and quit screwing people over with their prices. But seeing as the drug companies are firmly in the pocket of the government (or vice versa) and everyone seems quite happy with that situation, I don’t suppose anyone will be motivated to change their tactics anytime soon.