There’s something odd about medical ads.

Big text about living with an ailment.

Smile on face like one would have during a party with friends.

Sometimes with a real name behind the face but always with purpose.

A precise play for something more.

A facade.

***

Perhaps it’s like visiting a circus.

People with rare traits paraded forth.

Oddities to grab attention.

Broadly showing a hidden label for the world to see.

Something that in other circumstances might be called brave.

A calculated gamble to draw in those similar while allowing the rest to gawk.

***

In the end it’s really about the intention.

A predator that pays for bait.

Dangling a fulfillment of a need or dream,

Just out of reach and always for a price.

A dream so tempting that the person remains glued to the screen.

So entranced that they miss the side effects completely.