TV commercials about medical matters can give me a persistent itch that can only be relieved with a hormone ointment from the doctor. Maybe an idea for a new commercial with the motto: “Stop the itching!”
Such commercials have been very fashionable lately. They start with the diagnosis of a terrible ailment, show some heartbroken sufferers of this ailment, preferably in the company of a number of grieving family members, and conclude with an urgent appeal to donate a sum of money.
The first TV commercials in this genre that caught my eye were those from Alzheimer Nederland, an organization that is committed “to a better life with dementia and a future without dementia”. “Stop dementia!” was the repeated call in the videos. Because “together we can put a stop to dementia. Your donation makes a difference.”
What difference exactly? The suggestion is that dementia will be put an end to if enough people transfer a substantial amount to Alzheimer Nederland, because it will pass on that money – after deducting the expenses incurred, such as salaries, I assume – to medical research into Alzheimer's. There is a very sunny optimism in these types of texts, but I miss the putting into perspective that so far worldwide research into Alzheimer's has not yet brought anything closer to a liberating cure. It is still very questionable whether we can indeed 'stop dementia together'.
We can and should try, of course, but perhaps it can be done without those sentimental videos from Alzheimer Nederland with sobbing people and an elderly, demented man who struggles to say: “It's only getting…worse…worse, right?” Do people at Alzheimer Nederland ever wonder how such videos reach people with dementia who are sitting at home in front of their TV, innocently looking forward to some kind of, preferably uplifting, program?
Such commercial TV campaigns are apparently very successful, because the Thrombosis Foundation Netherlands has also developed a taste for them. “Stop the gag” is the remarkable poetic invention with which they warn potential thrombosis patients and support medical research. Now that the blood vessels in the medical world are flowing profusely in this hunt for donors, there seems to be no stopping it. May I make some more suggestions? For the Dutch Heart Foundation: “Heart without sorrow”. For the Stomach Liver Intestine Foundation: “Turn the Ulcer” and “Swish the Polyp”. To the authorities in the field of venereal diseases: “Don't give your love a kiss.” For the Netherlands Brain Foundation: “No tumor with humor.” For the Dutch Kidney Foundation: “Have fun with your…”
Sorry, I find that I cannot top “Put the gag”, but it remains a catchy genre, this medical rhyme. I would be better off suggesting that all those authoritative medical bodies put their heads together and come up with one joint, because hugely cost-saving, TV campaign with just one motto: “Stop disease!” But preferably without crying patients, and if a rhyme is absolutely necessary, I offer without obligation: “Die without decay.”
#Column #Stop #39Stop #gag39
