dengue and mass marketing

Good advertising presents prospects
with product benefits.

You want to know how a product will
help you, before you buy.

In the U.S., the benefits of mosquito
repellant are not clearly spelled out.
It's well known mosquito bites itch, and
mosquitoes are pesky critters you'd
rather not have around.

But the benefit of mosquito repellant
in a country where mosquitoes carry
dangerous diseases go beyond avoiding
the annoyance of mosquitoes and an
itchy bump on your skin.

Recently I was in a grocery story in
such a country and couldn't help but
notice large signs hanging over the
mosquito repellant section.

They had a picture of a mosquito with
the universal red bar sign superimposed
over it -- and the words, Avoid Dengue.

What I'm not sure is why dengue and not
malaria. Maybe because although dengue
usually doesn't kill its victims, it's
extremely painful.