Television ads for Lipitor, the world's top-selling drug, have returned to the airwaves six months after Pfizer pulled them because of charges that the use of a celebrity doctor endorser who never practiced medicine misled the public.
Starting in late 2006, Pfizer ran frequent TV ads featuring artificial heart inventor Dr. Robert Jarvik. While he holds a medical degree, Jarvik never completed licensing requirements to practice medicine.
In the new ads, the endorser is a talent agent from the San Francisco Bay area who tells viewers he started taking the cholesterol-lowering drug after surviving a heart attack last year.
The new ads are part of an national campaign that also includes print ads in newspapers and magazines.
Lipitor generates more than $12 billion a year in revenue for Pfizer.