Less Sex, Rock-n-Roll as Drugmakers React to FDA TV Ad Scrutiny

Sexual innuendo is being muted in TV ads for Pfizer Inc.'s erection pill Viagra as drugmakers react to added U.S. scrutiny of promotional campaigns for medicines.

Instead of middle-aged bikers singing "Viva Viagra," as seen in a 2007 commercial, the latest Viagra ad shows a gray- haired man meeting with a doctor. After Pfizer's quit-smoking treatment Chantix was tied to suicides in 2008, the New York- based drugmaker added more than a minute of safety warnings into advertising that earlier had just 14 seconds. Pfizer isn't alone in bringing a more serious tone to its ads.