Eeyore: a Jackass Marketing Gimmick

Ed Silverman over at Pharmalot posted the following item ("Tiggergate: Using Disney Icons to Sell Seroquel"):

"How is this for creative selling? An AstraZeneca regional sales manager allegedly directed the sales reps in her region to use some of Winnie the Pooh’s well-known friends - specifically, Tigger and Eeyore - to promote the Seroquel antipsychotic.

"We are told the idea was conveyed at a national sales meeting and on field rides with sales reps, who were told to use Tigger as a bipolar patient and Eeyore - the down-in-the-mouth donkey - as a depressed patient. The reps were allegedly encouraged to use Tigger dolls as giveaways, for instance.

"Whether any of the reps actually did so is unclear. Nonetheless, an AstraZeneca spokesman tells us that the drugmaker is “investigating the allegations,” although he adds that “it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment further, because it is an open investigation.”

"Who knows what lurks in the 100 Acre Woods?"

To answer that question, I visited 100 Acre Woods, aka the AstraZeneca (AZ) Cafe Pharma discussion board and came upon this anonymous posting: Why is Seroquel getting killed by Abilify:

"Why is Seroquel getting its ass handed to it by Abilify? What the hell is happening anyway?"

To which a couple of anonymous reps made these replies:

"because our RSDs are jackasses and the one ASD that is left is a total j@*koff and the brand team idiots nobody even knows who the f@#k they are - so sh$@ty sales leadership and invisible marketing"

"Clueless marketing - plain and simple."

Mystery solved. Eeyore is a jackass marketing gimmick concocted by the the clueless, jackasses on the Seroquel brand marketing team!