Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Bayer has launched a new marketing campaign aimed at encouraging women to understand the risks and benefits of their birth control method, including those offered by Bayer. The drug company boasts the most popular birth control pills on the market – Yaz and Yasmin – which have brought in more than $1.5 billion since 2009. The pills are also bringing something new to Bayer – more than 1,000 lawsuits from women who claim they were not adequately warned by the company of the serious health risks associated with Yaz and Yasmin.

When the pills were first introduced in the United States, the commercials said they offered an alternative in oral contraception. Yaz and Yasmin are the only pills that contain drospirenone, a diuretic. The ads cited the pills as a proven treatment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and as an effective treatment for moderate acne. Just as sales of Yaz and Yasmin began to soar, Bayer was penalized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which argued the company overstated the benefits of their birth control pills and downplayed the risks associated with the drug. Bayer was ordered to run new ads clearly stating the risks.

Now, amid mounting lawsuits and criticism, Bayer is reaching out to consumers again, this time through a new website, www.BayerForWomen.com. “Through ongoing research, Bayer works to bring you innovative contraceptive products. We’re committed to improving your health and well-being and to bringing you the facts about the benefits, as well as the safety risks of birth control, including your own,” the site reads. It also features a video to drive home its point. In the video, blindfolded women touching a rhino trying to guess what it is. “A pipe?” “A brush?” The announcers voice plays: “Having only one point of view on anything can be misleading. So before you come to a conclusion make sure to get the full picture. Especially when it comes to your birth control.”

Bayer calls this latest marketing campaign its “unwavering commitment is to your health and well-being. We want you to have the facts on the safety and risks of your birth control, including our own,” the video continues. But considering the countless stories of women injured by the pills, one has to wonder if Bayer is more committed to protecting women, or to protecting its own image.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 14th, 2010 at 9:56 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.