Rx: Drugs Are Prescription for Fashion
Tobacco companies are no longer allowed to advertise their reputedly addictive products on television, but there are no such restrictions for pharmaceutical products, which have become as much a part of the popular culture as cigarette brands once were. San Francisco-based Solid Sugar Inc. plans to capitalize on that fact with its new line of T-shirts and bags under the Rx brand.
“We are inundated by ads on television and it seems like the whole pharmaceutical culture is pervading modern American life,” explained Greg Long, art director for Rx. “Frankly, it’s time for someone to take a twist on that, and we’ve put our spin on it. It seems really timely and people are having fun with it.”
Long emphasized that certain pharmaceuticals have taken on iconic proportions as much as pop culture celebrities.
“Pills have become as famous as rock stars,” he said. “Valium is in the same vein as Limp Bizkit. Rock stars have their own T-shirts, so why not pharmaceutical products?”
According to Long, the most popular of the designs featured on the Rx branded products is the Prozac design, just ahead of the one for Vicadin, with separate age ranges favoring each design.
“We have 40- and 50-year-olds buying the Prozac, and teens are buying the Vicadin,” said Long.
In addition to the aforementioned medications, the Rx shirts feature other genuine pharmaceutical products, including Ritalin, Oxycontin and Delaudid. Also, Rx has created a few of its own drug brands, which, according to Long, are “our impression of what would look like a good pill.”
“We’ve taken the whole idea of the aesthetic of pills, because we like the way they look,” Long said.
The Rx items incorporate the logos and lifelike facsimiles of the real-life pills featured on them, although the label is not working with any pharmaceutical companies. Long said that he doesn’t believe there will be any legal ramifications stemming from the use of the brands.
“The guy who does [the shirt designs] is a patent artist for pharmaceutical companies,” said Long. “Our view is that it falls under fair play as parody and it should be protected as free speech.”
Solid Sugar has been in business since February 2001 and was responsible for the Gama-Go label before creating Rx Clothing.For sales information, call (415) 452-0213.
