Merck, the maker of the popular allergy drug Claritin and Children’s Claritin, has recently come under fire due to their advertising to children. Is their move dangerous or just fantastic marketing?
Currently, Children’s Claritin can be found on the shelf covered in the characters from the latest Madagascar cartoon. Some packages even contain stickers of the characters. As a further joint marketing tactic, the company has reached out to bloggers who use the product and throw big movie watch parties for them. The parties are complete with DVDs and even product samples.
Advocacy groups against this type of marketing are not amused. The Public Health Advocacy Institute is calling these strategies “unfair and deceptive.” They’re also calling out the fact that these same characters can be found on food products – specifically gummy snacks – which can lead to confusion between medicine and candy for children. (more…)
