[NPInfo] NOT another Jarvick

[David Mittman]

Simon Cowell As The Viagra Spokesman?
Posted: 03 Mar 2008 09:42 AM CST
Not likely. The sharp-tongued American Idol judge says that his agent  
conveyed an offer with worth some $2 million to promote the little  
blue pill, but that he was ‘insulted’ by the generous proposition,  
according to The Sun.

“Last year my agent rang me and said ’You’ve been offered an  
incredibly big £1 million deal. It’s to be the face of Viagra,’ he  
purportedly tells Glamour magazine. “And I just said ’Sorry, but that  
has to be a f****** insult’.”

Given Pfizer’s recent track record with celebrity spokespeople, one  
has to wonder whether the Pfizer marketing team and ad agency even  
stopped to wonder whether Cowell truly has a medical need for Viagra  
(as opposed to a recreational desire). After all, the drugmaker last  
week yanked Lipitor ads featuring artificial-heart doc Robert Jarvik.  
Why? He isn’t licensed to practice medicine, so he can’t write a  
Lipitor prescription, and one ad featured him rowing a boat on a  
lake. But that turned out to be sit-in. Jarvik, you see, doesn’t row.

Presumably, Cowell, who is 48 years old, can row his own boat. We’re  
awaiting word from Pfizer and will update you with any reply.