A pharmaceutical company's marketing executive and his boss were promoting their products to me.
"This is our preparation of calcium and vitamin D" the boss said as the executive held open his promotional catalog for me to admire. "It is useful for treating normal pregnant women, menopausal women and women with pregnancy induced hypertension."
I was surprised at the last indication. I checked what they had printed on the catalog. They had listed that as an indication in colorful print.
"It cannot be used to treat pregnancy induced hypertension" I said. "If you had said for prevention of this condition, I would have accepted it. But to treat? No way!"
"Of course it is" the boss said.
"Show me some evidence" I said "in the form of a scientific study published in a scientific journal."
"We will show you" he said. "Give me your mobile number and I will get it sent to you immediately."
"No. I prefer you show me the paper in print."
"That will take time" he said "to get it from Delhi to here".
"I can wait" I said. "What if you do not produce any evidence in one week?"
"Then you do not prescribe this product" he said.
"I will not prescribe this product for that indication anyway" I said, "because I know it is wrong. What I will do is write about you and your product on my blog for the whole world to be put wise. I could complain to appropriate authority about unethical marketing by giving wrong information. But I prefer not to waste my time on that."
He looked concerned. Then he decided to reason it out with me. "Do you at least agree that there is something called pregnancy induced hypertension?" he asked as the first step of the reasoning process.
It was at this point that I lost my patience. "Are you an obstetrician?" I asked him.
"No" he said.
"Then you are not qualified to discuss this issue with me. Come back with evidence in one week."
It has been 11 days since, and there is still no evidence produced by that company. I refrain from writing the name of the product. If the company retains this fellow, it deserves what it will get in the form of loss of sales. It deserves that anyway for wrongful promotion of its product. In the meantime I stay amazed that a marketing manager can have such poor skills and knowledge, and an even worse attitude.
"This is our preparation of calcium and vitamin D" the boss said as the executive held open his promotional catalog for me to admire. "It is useful for treating normal pregnant women, menopausal women and women with pregnancy induced hypertension."
I was surprised at the last indication. I checked what they had printed on the catalog. They had listed that as an indication in colorful print.
"It cannot be used to treat pregnancy induced hypertension" I said. "If you had said for prevention of this condition, I would have accepted it. But to treat? No way!"
"Of course it is" the boss said.
"Show me some evidence" I said "in the form of a scientific study published in a scientific journal."
"We will show you" he said. "Give me your mobile number and I will get it sent to you immediately."
"No. I prefer you show me the paper in print."
"That will take time" he said "to get it from Delhi to here".
"I can wait" I said. "What if you do not produce any evidence in one week?"
"Then you do not prescribe this product" he said.
"I will not prescribe this product for that indication anyway" I said, "because I know it is wrong. What I will do is write about you and your product on my blog for the whole world to be put wise. I could complain to appropriate authority about unethical marketing by giving wrong information. But I prefer not to waste my time on that."
He looked concerned. Then he decided to reason it out with me. "Do you at least agree that there is something called pregnancy induced hypertension?" he asked as the first step of the reasoning process.
It was at this point that I lost my patience. "Are you an obstetrician?" I asked him.
"No" he said.
"Then you are not qualified to discuss this issue with me. Come back with evidence in one week."
It has been 11 days since, and there is still no evidence produced by that company. I refrain from writing the name of the product. If the company retains this fellow, it deserves what it will get in the form of loss of sales. It deserves that anyway for wrongful promotion of its product. In the meantime I stay amazed that a marketing manager can have such poor skills and knowledge, and an even worse attitude.
