Has sufferance been used as marketing strategy?
(Please click on source HERE) Just this evening, I noticed a message on Facebook that was doing the rounds, complete with photograph of the actor Serban Ionescu, today very seriously ill from Lyme disease. A little background for those who do not know the plight of this man: due to the tardiness of his diagnosis, Mr Ionescu and his family are now seriously considering the possibility of his transfer to a clinic in Vienna for treatment - the doctors in Romania have no idea how to treat him themselves (Lyme is apparently a new concept in Romania) and the rightful treatment has not been administered - precious time wasted, in other words. Just tonight, Realitatea reported on an original article from Cancan full of total misinformation, quoting a doctor who stated that it was probable that Mr Ionescu's family and neighbours had 'caught' the disease [from him] and it was also likely that 80% of the population of Romania were also infected with Lyme... that coming from a 'doctor'. Unbelievable. It is a known fact that Lyme disease is NOT contageous and that it is treated by a month-long course of high-dose antibiotics as early as possible. A terrible tragedy for Mr Ionescu and his loved ones.
But that, though bad enough, is not why I am as angry tonight as I am. I am angry because this afore-mentioned message on Facebook claimed that with each 'share' of the photo, 0.5 lei would be donated for the cause of Mr Ionescu. Of course, it did not say what for exactly, nor how the money would be spent. Can clicking 'share' really mean the donation of half a leu? I'll let you be the judge of that... but it sure does multiply its advertising and the number of people reached.
(Please click on source HERE) The account posting this photo of a very ill Mr Ionescu belongs to Zorilestore.ro. Beside it, one reads the following: "UPDATE: Multumim tuturor celor care au dat share si s-au implicat in aceasta actiune umanitara. Datorita implicarii voastre am strans suma de 100 de milioane de lei (10.000 RON) in mai putin de 5 ore. Acesta a fost bugetul maxim pe care compania noastra l-a alocat actiunii pe Facebook. Nu putem suplimenta acest buget destinat share-ului pe Facebook, dar vom dona 1% din cifra de afaceri in perioada 15.05 – 15.06.2010 pentru a suplimenta fondurile. Va multumim inca o data si va asteptam pe site.
Ajuta-ne sa ajutam!!! Share pentru Serban Ionescu!"
(Click on source HERE) In this album are three identical photographs of Serban Ionescu, with different captions, and when one googles Zorilestore.ro, the same photo is visible on the main home page on a loop with images of 'papuci'. Be patient and you'll see the photo of Mr Ionescu (with details of the campaign) between Puma pumps and Fila trainers. Yes, Zorilestore is no other than a commercial site selling trainers, flip-flops and other footwear... 
Commentaires sur Has sufferance been used as marketing strategy?
- Thank you, Sarah, for this post. I also received that message on Facebook yesterday but decided no to follow up on it because (as you also mention) I seriously doubted that my clicking "Share" on their page would instantly transform in 0.5 lei...
I agree, the way they use Serban Ionescu's suffering is a dirty method to increase their own profit. I hope you don't mind if I share your post with all my lists of friends. - for Rocky's DadDear Rocky's Dad - no please, go ahead. I received an e-mail this morning telling me that in Ro there's a great deal going on to help Mr Ionescu through donations etc, apart from the move by Ponta to reease govt money to finance the move to Vienna - so they should since the useless health service and lack of know-how on the part of the doctors who treated him up until now are wholely responsible for his state. I hope I have not judged Zorilestore.ro too harshly. I expect they really do mean well and really do intend to donate 1% of their sales figures - but not before they have increased their own traffic and sales figures on the back of a man's pain and suffering. Good intentions apart, that really is unforgivable...
- Asa eAdica cei care vand papuci au vrut sa omoare doua muste cu o lovitura dar cum au facut-o este de prost si josnic.
In oroce caz, ma bucur ca am avut norocul sa descopar acest blog si sa citesc despre tara noastra si din alt unghi de vedere. pentru ac. lucru eu va multumesc iar lui Serban Ionescu, pe care l-am vazut doar intr-o piesa, ii doresc sa se simta mai bine. - Congratulations for the Ionescu blog and the many blogs you have written for the past 3 years, blogs that I only now discover.. I just read a couple of them and are intrigued about your fascination with the country of my birth. While grateful to you, I am also touched by your understanding of what's going on and how hard it is the change things, You write with so much compassion and love, as I wrote above, it will take time for me to realize what a true friend my country has.
- I was diagnosed with LymeYes, almost 20 years ago and I remember pretty well: it started with pains in my knees. My GP said: wear and tear, take Tylenol for arthritis. Not happy with the diagnostic I consulted another doctor, a young practitioner then.. Unknown to me, he had just attended a seminar on Lyme and thus knew the symptoms of this disease. He immediately ordered the ELISA and the blood test confirmed that I was infected. How many month earlier, he could not say.. maybe months. I was on antibiotics a whole month and this probably saved me from being a cripple today, like some of the people I know.
It is a nasty disease, still not taken seriously on Romania and NO spray can help. My advice: do not lay on the grass or walk barefoot (I did neither). Look closely at your body after taking a walk in a park; do not touch the tick if you see one - it has to be removed very gently, some say with tweezers; take a warm shower; wash your clothes in hot water. BE CAUTIOUS. As they say in Romanian: "paza buna trece primejdia rea" - Another adviceApart from the "spot-on" Frontline I use for Rocky, last year I have also purchased a set of Tick Twisters which I have never yet used (and hope I will never have to use them). I am including a link below to give you all an idea of what they are and how simple it is to remove ticks completely, in a few seconds and with no pain, without using ether or alcohol, with no danger of leaving the mouth-parts of the tick implanted in the skin and without compressing the abdomen of the tick (as would happen in case of using simple tweezers) thus minimizing the transfer of infectious agents (Lyme disease, Babesiosis, etc.)
http://www.ticktwister.com/
P.S. I bought my Tick Twisters from happypets.ro and they only cost 14 lei.
Romanian doctors should have paid more attention and read more about Lyme disease: it has been studied for the past 20 years and it can be treated with antibiotics. I'll have more to say next time. My hope is the the doctors in Viena will make a difference in this man's life.