Pristiq’s toy mascot is the very reason people fear antidepressants
When people are hesitant to take antidepressants or other psychological drugs, they usually say something like, I don’t want to be a robot, or, I don’t want to lose my individuality and what makes me unique. That kind of thing.
Well, this semi-new ad for Pristiq, an antidepressant, turns that very fear into a misguided visual metaphor. A woman has a wind-up toy version of herself that she has to keep cranking up whenever it stops. Then she takes pills, I guess, and the mechanical toy marches on confidently. Then she gazes at it and smiles in a really dopey way.
But does anyone want to be compared to an automaton, a cog in society, a robot that must be made to fall into line and march like sheep to the slaughter? It seems like entirely the wrong message to send. And apparently, this robotic mascot isn’t going anywhere.