Don’t think this monster has gone away because it’s very much still alive and ready to pounce on you and add you to its 50,000 body count. So goes the message of a new flu shot commercial that rapper Ice-T made with drug company Sanofi to frighten you into getting your flu shot.

Styled like a Halloween scary movie thriller, the commercial features Ice-T’s voice for the flu. “They don’t know all the harm I can cause, all the complications I can lead to,” the flu/Ice-T says. “They can’t see me hiding in plain sight like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. But I’m more real than any story. I’m the flu. And the only thing I’ll say is, get ready for me.”

Sanofi picked Ice-T to speak for the flu because of the “edginess” of his voice, because his voice is easily recognized by the public, and because Sanofi hopes he will be able to draw more Blacks into taking the shot, as Blacks are “disproportionately affected” by flu.

Also, at 65, Ice-T represents an important age group that should be getting the shot, Sanofi’s head of adult vaccine unit, Dominika Kovacs, said.

SOURCE:

Fierce Pharma September 13, 2023