Depression: Our Least Supported Major Illness?

I think everyone reading this can say they have been depressed at one time or another. Money problems. A recent breakup. Physical ailments. Addiction. Abuse. Genetics. The list of causes are endless. Maybe you "Buck up" and pull through whatever is causing your depression. Maybe you don't. Some people live lives of quite desperation for decades. Some take their own lives. The societal costs are staggering.

Check out this infographic for some key stats on depression.

Depression goes way beyond "Feeling blue." It can happen to anyone, even those who seem to have it all. The field of depression is a mile wide and 20,000 leagues deep. Major Depression, Dysthmya, Bipolar disorder, Postpartum depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and many more varieties make up the landscape.

I could go on, but I think the following TED video does a much better job explaining the primary issues regarding depression better than I can, especially the social implications.

Depression is one of the most studied conditions, with treatments ranging from counselling to pills to light therapy to far more aggressive approaches. We have a lot of research and science surrounding depression, but we don't have a cure, and our current approaches are often unsuccessful.

"It's a Wonderful Life" is an amazing movie. While we would all love to have a guardian angel who could bring us out of our depression and show us how much we have to live for, life doesn't usually provide those types of miracles.

How can health care and the life sciences better tackle depression? More research? More medications? Better health care plans for treating depression? Broader awareness campaigns?

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

How Do You Establish an Emotional Connection with Customers?

Watch this amazing commercial and then come back for the context.

We've all seen our share of pharmaceutical commercials. People skipping through fields, happy and healthy. Regulations prevent us from getting too specific about how the drug works, but we can't use that as an excuse for making mediocre commercials that waste air time and sometimes even alienate consumers. I feel we are not connecting enough with the consumer on an emotional level. We're leaving a gigantic opportunity on the table and our brands are suffering for it.

In most drug commercials you quickly know you are watching actors playing a role in front of the camera. The actors are just too perfect. They wear stylish clothes that are clean and pressed. They look like they just came from the salon. Their houses are immaculate. They are antiquing and canoeing and cooking and dancing and gardening. They are blissfully happy thanks to a breakthrough medication. Unfortunately, there's no emotional connection to the message. Therefore, the response is weaker than it should be and the company makes up for it by running more commercial spots. It's the brute force approach. Just get the branding out there and move product.

Consumers write off these commercials as fantasy. In the real world, we deal with pain and loss and uncertainty and hopelessness when we have a medical condition. And fear. I've never seen fear used seriously and effectively in a drug commercial, have you?

The problem is, most commercials only cover the end of the story. They don't cover the embarrassment and shame a couple may go through when they are having trouble physically in the boudoir. They don't show people suffering with COPD or diabetes, and reveal in real terms what it means to their lives. Sometimes they employ humor to avoid the real emotions associated with the condition.

Companies want to gloss over the problem, get right to the solution, and pitch you on how you can be happy again. But they miss the most crucial part of the story. People have to identify with the bad stuff before they can really get on board with the good stuff. Show you can relate to them before you offer them hope.

Take a look at this commercial if you haven't yet, and see a great example of how to tell the whole story. It's not a drug commercial, but I feel it appropriately demonstrates how emotion is a powerful force in reaching people. More powerful than money. More powerful than logic. So why is honest emotion so poorly executed in almost all of our commercials? That's the billion dollar question.

Yes, the example commercial is a bit long at 3 minutes. However, infomercials are 30 minutes long, and they run day and night, raking in billions for their companies. So length is not the problem, and budget is certainly not the problem. It's the fear of exposing the dark side of the condition, and all the anxiety and sadness that comes with it. That's why all we see is manufactured "Authenticity." It's a real miss by the advertising folks.

I think there is a place for story-heavy, long format commercials in the pharmaceutical industry. There's certainly a need for more authentic, emotional spots of any length. Do you agree?

This is a fairy tale