MARKETING

By admitting he is shy, an American football player has become the latest star to promote disease—and drug—awareness

Celebrity selling—part two

BMJ 2002; 325 doi: 10.1136/bmj.325.7358.286 (Published 3 August 2002)
Cite this as: BMJ 2002;325:286.1

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

  1. Ray Moynihan (ray_128@hotmail.com)
  1. Washington DC based writer for the Australian Financial Review

    United States professional football sensation Ricky Williams last week sparked a blaze of publicity when he revealed that he had social anxiety disorder and was benefiting from both therapy and Paxil (Seroxat/paroxetine), the drug that earned GlaxoSmithKline global sales last year of US$2.7bn (£1.7bn; €2.7bn).

    Items appeared on the front page of the New York Times sports section, in the prestigious Los Angeles Times, and a host of other papers, as well as broadcast media including NBC. Stories described a serious psychiatric condition affecting between 5 and 10 million Americans. Some reports revealed that GlaxoSmithKline was paying the sports celebrity, some didn't.

    Williams joins a stellar cast of characters now using the mass media to promote awareness of a whole suite of medical conditions and diseases. In May Camilla Parker Bowles spoke out about osteoporosis at an international meeting in Portugal (BMJ 2002;324:1342). While Mrs Parker Bowles received …

    Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment

    Subscribe

    Article access

    Article access for 1 day

    Purchase this article for £20 $30 €32*

    The PDF version can be downloaded as your personal record

    * Prices do not include VAT

    Rapid responses

    THIS WEEK'S POLL

    BMJ most popular