Infiltrating YouTube for the Public Interest

The Dramatic Chipmunk has a new mission — letting former teenage Paxil users know that, thanks to a class action settlement in Hoorman v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., they are entitled to $100 or more in refunds. YouTube user gbeck2 posted the following, Paxil Chipmunk, following the settlement being recently finalized.

Class member notifications are usually found in newspapers and magazines depending on the notification terms of the settlement. Because this case concerned teens and their families, it makes sense to try to reach them where they hang out online — and to use a popular meme to do it.

Public Citizen, the consumer advocacy organization founded by Ralph Nader, also produced a 90-second spot which, like Paxil Chipmunk, directs claimants to the Paxil Payback web site. The group’s lawyers helped plaintiffs reach the terms of the settlement, and came up with the idea to post the notification to YouTube — their first such post to the popular video sharing site.

The plaintiffs alleged that Paxil manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline suppressed information about the drug’s potentially harmful side effects in promoting pediatric administration of the anti-depressant. As part of the $48 million settlement, GlaxoSmithKline didn’t have to admit any wrongdoing. Claims must be filed by August 31, and the form can be found on the main settlement web site.

More details about the case and the notification from Tresa Baldas’ article in the National Law Journal are on Law.com (Via The Legal Reader). Background on the Dramatic Chipmunk can be found at dramaticprairiedog.com.