Viagra was released to the public 20 years ago, on March 27, 1998. Pfizer’s drug, approved by the Food and Drug Administration, became immediately popular, but also became a common joe of pop culture. You could find it in ads aired during sporting events, or in late-night jokes, on TV and in music. Viagra, and later, drugs that had different names but similar effects, changed the way Americans had sex, writes The Atlantic. But it also, maybe more importantly, changed the way that Americans talk about sex. In 2008, sociologist Meika Loe, said that Viagra “has truly contributed to our intensified sexualized society.” As the myth goes, the company that created Viagra, Pfizer, was testing sildenail citrate in 1991 for its potential ability to lower blood pressure. But male participants kept noting that it was “raising something else.” Seven years later, Viagra was released. The company focused its marketing efforts on initially selling Viagra as a medical solution for a medical problem. They needed to overcome several sexual taboos, including aging and masculinity. Employees were told to remind consumers about the medical seriousness of the topic. The company went on to focus on the “rebranding of impotence” itself. Pfizer chose to speak of Viagra in terms of “male enhancement,” writes The Atlantic, and talked about how something so common — their ads said over half of men over 40 are afflicted with erectile dysfunction — cannot be shameful. During the early 2000s, the drug started advertising itself as a “romance drug” which meant they were advertising to women as well as men. It was a blockbuster drug — by the end of 1999, the pill had netted Pfizer more than $1 billion. By 2000, nearly 200,000 prescriptions for it were being filled each week, reports The Atlantic.
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