corrente

Mr. P-Niss apologizes for his absence from his usual time slot (ahem) this week, but he was busy yesterday trying to prevent this Revoltin' Development from coming to pass.

Alas, he failed, and is currently curled limply in the corner as teams of Swedish masseusses work frantically to revive him. So it falls to me, Ms. V-Gina, to bring you the following tragic news, whose impact is, frankly, greater on me than it is on Mr. P. anyway:

(via WaPo)

The Food and Drug Administration has ordered drug giants Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC to immediately pull a television ad for impotence drug Levitra, saying that the commercial does not adequately state the drug's potential side effects and that it cannot substantiate claims that it is superior to competitors such as Viagra or that it improves female satisfaction during sexual activity.

The 15-second ad, called "My Man," which includes the tag line, "Levitra: When it counts," features an actress asking, "In the mood for something different?" She goes on to say Levitra is "the best way to experience that difference."

The drugmakers responsible for Levitra will comply with the FDA's order, said Michael Fleming, Glaxo spokesman.

Damn limp..er, wimps!

Fleming said the commercial in question is called a "reminder ad" and does not include the listing of potential side effects that the longer, 45-second version does. The ad was produced by the Quantum Group.

The FDA said reminder ads can only call attention to a drug, not say how to use the drug or how well it might work.

"The totality of the TV ad also represents or suggests that Levitra will provide a satisfying sexual experience from the female partner's perspective," the agency wrote.

And you know what? They may have a point, unlike Mr. P-Niss at the moment, who becomes only more amorphously spongelike the longer the masseusses work their levitation-free labors on him. Don't think I'll be gettin' any tonight.