Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 122151	2011-12-04 22:05:00	It's amazing what a bit of casual curiosity will uncover - an ethical dilemma for me.	tuiruru (12277)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1247084	2011-12-04 22:05:00	I posted this on a "Social Networking" site this morning: (If you can't read thru' all of it I'm really trying to canvas opinion on the questions at the end :)) #1 "Hmm... How "hardball" should I get?For over a year now the dogs have been on heart medication tablets. Months ago the drug company ran a competition amongst vets' clinics to see who could come up with the best advertising campaign. We took part and our local vets one the NZ?Aussie award, so for ages now there's been a photo of the wife and I holding "the boys", along with a slogan we made up, gracing one of the walls of the surgery (along with other "competitors". Now this multimillion $$$$ drug company want to use the photo in an international campaign and are offering us a whole $100 to use our picture and endorsement! Call me a cynic, but something doesn't seem quite right here....." So, in the interests of a balanced, informed opinion I started sniffing around a bit. Here's how it unfolded: #2 "Incidentally, my initial slogan of "This treatment has allowed us to continue contributing to our vet's revenue stream for well over 12 months and counting.....", didn't gain a lot of traction for some reason. Whilst stating an obvious truth it somehow didn't convey the "essence" of what they were after :-(" #3 "Here - from the company's own website: "We are one of the top 20 leading pharmaceutical companies in the world. In 2010, worldwide, we had sales of €12.6 billion; while spending 24% of net sales in our largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development". NZ$100 divided into Euro12.6billion goes.... sorry, I'm suffering from zero blindness!! Methinks there's a principle involved here!!" #4 "Seems like their US branch is good to work for: "Sustaining a culture of high performance and innovative thinking means attracting and retaining top talent. To enable high performance, Boehringer Ingelheim provides a Total Rewards package encompassing competitive salary and bonus (if eligible) as well as other benefits that add significant value to overall compensation package. Here:us.boehringer-ingelheim.com #5 "The plot thickens:"Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN) is a national research watchdog organization. [5] SAEN has included Boehringer Ingelheim among the worst violators of U.S. laws. Boehringer Ingelheim amassed 19 violations in a nine month period, including incidents where primates died in cage washers. According to government reporting, drug testing labs violate the Animal Welfare Act a collective average of three times a week. (Government reports and ranking statistics available upon request.)" #6 ""In November of 2007, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in Ridegefield, Connecticut issued a statement regarding several incidents that resulted in a $20,060 fine from the USDA in 2006. The incidents included the death of a rhesus monkey that was mistakenly steam washed and severe burns to the finger pads of another monkey that led to the amputation of several digits. According to the company, the USDA revealed "inadequate" animal handling practices which were "absolutely unacceptable." from:www.sourcewatch.org " #7 "And" bquot.com " #8 "Give that bquot link above a few seconds to drop down to the highligthed bitGive that bquot link above a few seconds to drop down to the highligthed bit" #9 "And here's what their UL Company profile looked like at the end of 2010: companycheck.co.uk # 10 "One arm of the company was involved with and AIDS drug trial on humans in Uganda where the results were so bad that they tried to cover them up: bquot.com (let it drop down to the highlighted bit) So, what should I do? a) Take the $100 and run? b) Put pressure on them to pay more c) Let the other people who are being made "an offer they can't refuse" the above facts? d) Tell the company to stuff it? Part of the investigation lead to this US site: www.sourcewatch.org H (www.sourcewatch.org)ave we got anything like that in NZ? Time to take a breather!!	tuiruru (12277)
1247085	2011-12-04 22:22:00	I have no idea what you are talking about. So...I suggest you shoot the dog and be happy with the savings thanks to no vet bills or medication. Or dog food for that matter. You could make a pair of fur lined slippers from its hide.	Metla (12)
1247086	2011-12-04 22:29:00	Wall of text hits you for 50,300 damage! Lease the picture to them. For every month they use the image for advertising request a fee, $100.. No more, $500 a month. And tell them you want free pet care for life. Ever hired a designer, photographer, models, etc? $500 a month aint too bad.	l0gic (6781)
1247087	2011-12-04 23:30:00	For over a year now the dogs have been on heart medication tablets. Months ago the drug company ran a competition amongst vets' clinics to see who could come up with the best advertising campaign. We took part and our local vets one the NZ?Aussie award, so for ages now there's been a photo of the wife and I holding "the boys", along with a slogan we made up, gracing one of the walls of the surgery (along with other "competitors". Now this multimillion $$$$ drug company want to use the photo in an international campaign and are offering us a whole $100 to use our picture and endorsement! Take the $100 for your picture, and be happy someone bothers to research medicine for animals. Loads of them can't even be arsed researching medicine for illnesses common in countries where they aren't going to get loads of money for their pills....	pctek (84)
1247088	2011-12-05 00:31:00	Nail on the head again Metla, well done. indicate	Cicero (40)
1247089	2011-12-05 02:21:00	You could make a pair of fur lined slippers from its hide. There's two of them (terrier crosses) - one's black and white, the other's brown and white - so the slippers wouldn't match! :)	tuiruru (12277)
1247090	2011-12-05 02:26:00	Wall of text hits you for 50,300 damage! Lease the picture to them. For every month they use the image for advertising request a fee, $100.. No more, $500 a month. And tell them you want free pet care for life. Ever hired a designer, photographer, models, etc? $500 a month aint too bad. Ah! You see, we're into copyright ownership here! Someone else (the vet) took the picture ( we didn't commission it) so she holds the copyright for that, the quote she put on the photo is ours, so we hold the copyright on that. One's no good without the other!! :D	tuiruru (12277)
1247091	2011-12-05 03:21:00	Logic is right. I, too, would be tempted to take the $100 - but make it $500 - each time they publish the picture. That must be worth a few pennies as I'm certain that they will use the picture many times. You share the spoils with the vet. Makes a lot of sense.	Roscoe (6288)
1247092	2011-12-05 04:32:00	Sorry, didn't read that all so this may have been mentioned, but .... did you (or the Vet) read the term and conditions of the competition? You probably gave them the rights by participating in the competition. Unless you want to take your Vet to court for use of the photo without your permission...?	Jen (38)
1247093	2011-12-05 04:56:00	Re-classify your dog as an iMutt, and the vet, plus the drug company, will be well advised to pay you heaps before the trouble really starts. ;) Don't worry about the ethics - that's not applicable to drug companies .	R2x1 (4628)
1 2