CBS Sunday Morning had a segment today about the discovery and development of penicillin. It worked well to treat some sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonnarrhea and syphilis, which is why early ads used the snappy headline:
“Is your penis illin’? Then take penicillin!” (<When spoken, the headline softened the ‘e’ in “penis” {to sound like “pennis”} to make it rhyme better with “penicillin”.)
Church groups objected to the use of the word “penis” however, in addition to claiming STDs are God’s will to punish naughty people, and so the ad campaign was ended early. But it stands as a testament to the power of a snappy headline that we all still remember it today.
