The ad opens with a blonde woman lying seductively on the bed.
“So. It's just you and your lady. The setting: It's magical," she murmurs in breathy tones. "But then, erectile dysfunction comes knocking again. But lucky for you, you have countless medication options that will make you just as randy as a teenager."
Then the camera angle shifts, and the young woman's tone does too: "Too bad your lady doesn't have any," she says. "Even though more women than men suffer from sexual dysfunction, there isn't one available medication on the market. Sounds like we've been left high and dry. ”
That's a snippet of an ad campaign put together by a group called Even the Score. They're pushing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a "little pink pill" called flibanserin.
The drug, taken as a daily pill, aims to even the market for desire-enhancing drugs—something a number of feminists say is long overdue. But just how effective will this Viagra-like treatment be?
Thea Cacchioni, an assistant professor of women’s studies at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, says the push to get flibanserin approved is more about marketing than about science. She is writing a book called "Big Pharma, Women, and the Labor of Love.”
UPDATE August 19, 2015: The FDA has approved the first prescription drug to enhance women’s sexual drive. The big question now is how many women will use Addyi, which is made by Sprout Pharmaceuticals. Click here to read more from our partner The New York Times.