Infertility world is buzzing with birds and bees

  The buzz in the infertility world is all about a series of videos that EMD Serono (a major infertility pharmaceutical company) has put together based on the concept of the birds and the bees. Two adults dressed up, one as a bird (the woman) and the other as the bee (the male). The videos are funny, touching, poignant, or just plain strange? Seems like all of the above, at least as far as I can tell from the feedback from friends, family and people in the infertility field. These videos are living on a new website called increaseyourchances.org. (Interesting that it's on a "dot.org", given that those types of websites are reserved for not for profit organizations.)

I went through the website as thoroughly as I know how. I always look very carefully at websites so that I know who is giving me information. "About Us" is my first stop on a website, and often, there is no real answer until you dig deeper, through more layers of internet pages. So is this just a fabulous new marketing ploy? Innovative advertising? I think yes, however this website has no way that I could see to connect to the EMD Serono website; there is no information on medications or protocols. What there are these quirky, perhaps funny, somewhat sarcastic videos with adults dressed up in silly costumes talking about the real things that many of us go through when we are challenged with infertility. I see that lots of people on facebook thought they were funny, while many others felt they were just awful. Maybe it's just me, but while I smiled occasionally, it was more at the fact that I could relate to the despair on the face of a woman wearing a bluebird costume, more out of sympathy for her pain about a lack of pregnancy, than in real amusement. Although, not to give too much away, the Bee showing us his pregnancy tests was just plain funny. At least to me.

So I'm writing today to share this with you. As I said, the infertility world's all abuzz (sorry for the bad bee pun!) about these videos and whether they were in good taste, bad taste, or any taste at all.

I know I've asked before for your opinion and input; here's a real opportunity for you to tell a major pharmaceutical company what you thought. They are listening, they read this blog, and I believe they want to know. I actually believe they wanted to help with these videos, I certainly know that they took a risk in creating them.

Tell me what you think of these videos. Tell EMD Serono what you thought. Believe me, we both care.