You’re probably familiar with Abilify commercials if you watch television. The ad campaign features an animated character who claims that Abilify makes her “feel better.” Of course, an animated character can’t feel anything, use a “real” drug, such as aripiprazole, or improve because of its use. Nevertheless, drug companies, I assume, think it’s fine to pay millions for this.

Furthermore, animated characters can’t really be depressed, therefore the assertion of the advertisement is beyond bizarre and should be judged false advertisement. Most prescription commercials fall into this category, as the people in them claiming to have benefitted from the drugs are actors, actors who are on multiple other drug commercials, but not actually “on” the medication. For an actor, who doesn’t suffer from chronic pain, to play the role of someone who benefitted from the use of a drug as a means of validating the benefits of drugs, is pure falsehood.

This is a good metaphor for debt ceiling analytics. The real problem was avoided for purposes of carnival, and our president and congress people floated an animated character, who, in the end “cannot feel better.”