RE: Ask your doctor about...
There is actually a reason for this. There is a federal law in effect that governs how pharmaceuticals are advertised. I am not sure about the details of the law (since I worked in medical device biotech, not pharm), but it goes something like this.
A manufacturer can
a) advertise a drug WITHOUT mentioning what it actually does. Just saying something like "ask your doctor if XYZ is right for you!"
OR
b) if they advertise what is does (like helps alleviate allergy symptoms ), then they have to ALSO list ON THE AIR all the major side effects.
Hence the Claritin or Allegra ads (I forget which) with the woman running blissfully through a field of ragweed in full bloom, but no mention that the drug is good for seasonal allergies. And also the Zoloft bouncing sad ball ads, which does mention that Zoloft helps with the symptoms of depression BUT ALSO lists a rather terrifying large number of potential side effects. Usually they run type A ads when the drug is already fairly well known and just want to keep in the public eye, and they run type B ads when they want to begin establishing a market for a drug.
Probably more than you ever wanted to know about pharmaceutical ads. :) And the good news Flagger, is that once your babe comes, your daytime TV watching will mainly be limited to the Disney Channel and PBS which have no advertising. :)
HTH,
Beth, mom to older DD (8/01) and younger DD (10/06) and always missing Leah (4/22 - 5/1/05)