The Markeing Mind Virus

Something is wrong with our collective consciousness.

I believe there`s a collective issue affecting all of us. As humans, we possess a sophisticated ability to discern truth from falsehood, except when love clouds our judgment. This capability has been crucial for our species` survival over millennia. However, I suspect we`ve been infected by a virus akin to a computer virus, which subtly and stealthily obscures a specific falsehood: those propagated by marketing, advertising, or any other form of persuasive selling tactics aimed at prompting us to make purchases.

There`s nothing novel about the butcher tilting the scale; it`s even mentioned in the Bible. We`re familiar with the Snake Oil salesmen from the 19th century and the stereotypical used car salesman who promotes a car as flawless when he knows it`s a lemon. We all recognize it as dishonesty. Strangely, instead of reacting with outrage to this blatant deception, we seem to accept it. Nowadays, we`ve become so accustomed to it that we hardly even notice or give it a second thought.

In the various companies, large and small, where I`ve been employed, there`s been a consistent expectation. As employees of the corporation, we`re seen as representatives of the company, even outside of work hours – at home, at the bar, at the store, everywhere. Any action that brings disrespect to the corporation is grounds for immediate termination. Any statement that doesn`t align with the corporate message, the polished statement crafted by the public relations office, can lead to swift dismissal. So, if you work for a ketchup bottling company and someone in the local food store asks you about the best ketchup, you`re expected to endorse the one that employs you, even if you know it`s subpar. It creates a significant conflict of interest that compels us to deceive, and it`s unsettling how accepting we`ve become of this reality.

Creeping Corruption

Gradually and relentlessly, each small deception, each "white lie," contributes to the normalization of deceit, leading to a pervasive corruption. Over time, we grow desensitized to it, unaware of its presence. The virus accomplishes its objective. In business, what takes precedence over creating an excellent product is cultivating a strong brand. Building brand identity becomes the ultimate objective, pursued at any expense, through any means necessary, and the money flows.

The Sad Demize Of Our Greatest Industry

Few advancements have had a greater positive impact on humanity than the advancements in modern medicine during the 20th century. From advancements in medical procedures to the development of medical devices and pharmaceuticals, there was a significant improvement in the quality of life. Over time, medicine emerged as the largest industrial sector, surpassing even petroleum. Particularly, the pharmaceutical industry became fiercely competitive, with numerous entities vying for approval from governments, trade publications, and the public. Initially, the emphasis was on promoting quality products through marketing narratives. However, gradually and subtly, the insidious influence of deceptive marketing practices began to take root.

Marcia Angell, MD

Dr Marcia Angell is a former editor of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, a premier journal. During her 20 years there she witnessed the shift from marketing quality products to the marketing of products of dubious quality for profit. The Mind Virus was slowly eating away at the credibility of the industry as snake oil marketing began to grow. After she retired she wrote the book Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It. She wrote the book in an attept to save, to cure the pharmaceutical industry. Taken seriously as a credible witness, still little was accomplished to reverse the process. In a book review in NIH National Library of Medicine she makes a number of observations.

With the cost rising 12% a year, it is the fastest growing part of America`s swollen health bill. In 2002 the average price of the 50 commonest drugs used by elderly people was nearly $1500 for a year`s supply.

Angell says that public resentment and resistance to these consumer rip offs has been growing. Big pharma`s response has led not to drug discounts but to public relations ploys justifying bloated prices, mainly involving the three marketing mantras: research, innovation, and free enterprise in the interests of shareholders. She points out that the United States is the world`s major profit centre for drugs.

The book`s 13 chapters examine the drug industry`s exaggerated claims of producing new drugs and its barrage of media marketing disguised as consumer education. Actually, big pharma`s main business is in producing what are called “me too” drugs: merely variations of old drugs created to prolong patent rights and to grab market share.

The final chapter, “How to Save the Pharmaceutical Industry—And Get Our Money`s Worth,” gives seven essential reforms, chief of which is for the Food and Drug Administration to compare new drugs not with placebos but with old drugs, to see whether there are any additional benefits.

The premeir journal in Great Britian is The Lancet. Here too the obvious creeping corruption is observed. In an article in the The Lancet Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, wrote that

The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue.
Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest,
together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance,
science has taken a turn towards darkness.

Dr Horton could have revealed more in support of his statement but he is restricted under Chatum House rules.

When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule,
participants are free to use the information received,
but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s),
nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.

The Mind Virus Continues

Dr. Horton`s comments were made in 2015, while Dr. Angell published her book in 2004, which was 20 years ago. Despite these damning remarks from highly credible sources, clinicians worldwide were astonished by the blatant deceptions and outright frauds exposed during the pandemic. Practicing clinicians and government officials placed almost complete trust in premier review journals and pharmaceutical companies. The recommended standard of care relied heavily on this trust. In recent years, however, many have started to notice cracks in this facade. Yet, most are still unable to accept the reality of the deception, perhaps out of embarrassment or simply because they have been staunch believers for so long.