This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

Remember the early part of 2008? Britney Spears was nuts. The economy was not in the toilet as much and commercials for Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE) anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor blanketed the nation's broadcast and cable airwaves. Good times.

Those Lipitor commercials -- in case you have forgotten -- featured medical scientist Dr. Robert Jarvik Jarvick speaking about the heart disease that killed his father and urging the public to ask their doctor about the pill. Jarvick, Jarvik, the "inventor" of the artificial heart, looked healthy and vigorous as he rowed on a sunny lake. As the New York Times pointed out, the ad was a pack of lies.
Jarvick Jarvik is a medical doctor who is not licensed to practice medicine and who may have exaggerated his role in developing the artificial heart. Plus, he does not even row. Talk about truth in advertising. After members of Congress balked, Pfizer pulled the campaign that reportedly cost it $256 million. Pfizer is going to have to figure another way to bolster sales of Lipitor before it comes off patent in 2010. Maybe James "Tony Soprano" Gandolfini can be persuaded to urge people to "whack" their cholesterol. Just a suggestion.

The sad thing is that Jarvik Jarvick is not the sleaziest pitchman in the drug industry. Those would be the celebrities who go on TV to "raise awareness" about a disease. Drug companies often pay them too. It's hardly surprising the U.S. is the only country to allow drug companies to sell directly to consumers. Whatever benefits these ads create are outweighed by the problems they cause.

Read the entire series

Shares of drug maker Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) have been tumbling in early trading after reporting this morning a plunge of 18% in its first-quarter profit. The company's earnings numbers have been dragged down by lower sales of blood-pressure drug Norvasc and the allergy drug Zyrtec.

The company said its quarterly profit dropped to $2.78 billion, or 41 cents per share on strong generic competition. These numbers are down from $3.39 billion, or 48 cents per share reported in the same period a year ago. Excluding items, Pfizer's earnings would have come in at 61 cents per share, missing analysts' predictions for a profit of 66 cents per share in the quarter.

Pfizer's quarterly revenue also slipped 5% to $11.85 billion.The company attributed the revenue decline to its loss of U.S. exclusivity for blood pressure drug Norvasc. However, the drop in revenue could have been even worse if the drug maker hadn't benefited from the weak dollar, Pfizer stated. Analysts expected the company to show sales of $12.06 billion in the first quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.

Talk about your tempest in a teapot, here's a good one for you. It seems that a congressional committee has taken up arms against Dr. Robert Jarvik, inventor of the artificial heart, because he didn't row his own boat in his recent appearance in a Lipitor television advertisement. The concern is over whether the doctor should be represented as rowing a boat when the person in the boat pictures isn't actually him. Next, Congress will be exposing the fact that M & M's don't really talk to Santa Claus. Dang it, I hate when that happens.

Further noise is being made because the good doctor is apparently not licensed to practice medicine. That makes some people question his worthiness to crow for Lipitor. That's funny, I don't remember him claiming that he'd prescribed the stuff to anyone himself. Does it really matter in the final analysis if the man isn't licensed to work in a hospital? Not to me. He's a doctor who knows hearts and he wants people to know how they might better care for their own. He apparently uses the product, it works for him, and he's willing to talk about it. That's kind of the basics of simple endorsement, isn't it?

I'll tell you what I think this is all about. I think some of those good old boys in the halls of Congress probably sold short on Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) , and they're probably mad because Dr. Jarvik's endorsement isn't allowing Lipitor to be crushed by Zocor, its cheaper generic competition. You can almost see their smug bipartisan grins as you read the whole story from Stephanie Saul in The New York Times. I think they want to muddy the waters just long enough for their short bets to come in, regardless of the cost to Dr. Jarvik's reputation. Those Washington stuffed shirts sure got their committees all whipped up in a big hurry on this one, didn't they. That's kind of telling, isn't it.

I suppose next they'll be telling us that geckos don't really talk about car insurance. Could that even be possible?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) saw Q4 net income decline by 70%, according to numbers released this morning. Despite the drop in income, profits were 52 cents a share, beating analyst estimates by five cents.

Pfizer generated $2.9 billion in net income in its fourth quarter, or $0.42 per share. In the year-ago period, net income piled up to $9.5 billion, or $1.32 per share. The drug-making giant sold its consumer healthcare division to Johnson & Johnson, Inc. (NYSE: JNJ) in the year-ago quarter, which helps explain the income plunge. Also, competition for Pfizer's Lipitor cholesterol blockbuster product (the world's best-selling pharmaceutical drug) has increased, and its Norvasc drug saw increased competition from generic alternatives.

Pfizer said that it would be purchasing another $5 billion in stock on top of the $10 billion it purchased in the open market in 2007. CEO Jeff Kindler continues to shave jobs and execute other cost-cutting measures in preparation for losing Lipitor patent protection in 2010. Currently, Lipitor comprises about a third of the company's revenue base.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• As dozens of patents on drugs expire over the next five years, generics will replace about $70B of drug company sales, reported the Wall Street Journal. Those hard hit will include Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE), whose $13B sales cholesterol lowering Lipitor will face stiff generic competition, and Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK), which will see generics battle against its three best sellers.
• Hopes for a $100B "super fund" to help ease a worldwide credit crisis, and the brainchild of Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), and JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), has failed to attract significant interest parties to make it a reality, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• According to sources and reported by the FT's dealReporter, despite ongoing litigation, a consortium led by JC Flowers remains interested in taking SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM).

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Economic Times reported that three bidders for Ford Motor Company's (NYSE: F) Jaguar and Land Rover units, Tata Motors, M&M and One Equity, submitted their final "competitive" bids Wednesday. The bids are rumored to be in the range of $1.5B-$2B, but may undergo revisions at some point.

Good thing that Zoloft is no longer covered by patent protection. Now it will be a lot cheaper for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) investors to stock up on the anti-depressant so they can better cope with the drug maker's lousy earnings.

Net income in the second quarter plunged 48% to $1.27 billion, or $0.18 per share, on revenue of $10.11 billion. Excluding unpleasant stuff like restructuring charges, profit was $0.42. On that basis, Wall Street analysts expected profit of $0.50 on revenue of $11.4 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

Investors could take some solace knowing that the company doesn't think things will get much worse. It reaffirmed EPS and revenue guidance for 2007 and 2008. Good thing, too, since the company just cut its 2007 outlook in April.

Still, there wasn't much to cheer about in today's results. Sales of Lipitor, the company's most prescribed product, plunged 13% in the quarter, failing to meet Pfizer's own expectations. Zoloft sales plunged 82% while NORVASC fell 45% and Viagra fell 3%.

Investors expected sales of these drugs to plunge since they lost patent protection. Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler has cut jobs and closed factories to cut costs. But what the company needs more than anything are new best selling drugs.

Like the minor league system in baseball, drug companies count on their pipelines to replace aging players. Whether investors will give Pfizer enough time to develop its prospects is far from certain.

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) won an important suit to preserve its patent benefits for Lipitor, a popular and lucrative cholesterol-lowering drug. According to Peter Loftus (www.wsj.com - subscription required), Pfizer earned almost $13 billion from Lipitor sales in 2006. Indian drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories had sued to sell a cheaper generic version of Lipitor. The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Pfizer.

Pfizer agreed to pay a $35 million fine in order to settle a suit brought by the US Justice Department involving a drug sold by Pharmacia, now a Pfizer subsidiary. Prior to its acquisition by Pfizer in 2003, Pharmacia marketed a human growth hormone drug called Genetropin. There is nothing wrong with the drug. The fine is because Pharmacia improperly influenced a vendor for government health-care programs to purchase not only Genotropin but other Pharmacia products as well. Pfizer will still market Genotropin, but the guilty unit of Pharmacia will pay $20 million in fines and will not be able to participate in government health-care programs. Another Pharmacia unit will pay $15 million in fines for improperly promoting Genotropin as an anti-aging medication, an unapproved usage.

News of Pfizer's legal dealings did not seem to bother investors. Pfizer closed at $25.67 on April 3, up 33 cents for the day.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and the other Big Pharma companies keep taking a pasting as their drugs come "off patent" and are greeted by competition from generic drug makers. As really big drugs like Lipitor move into that pool, the old line drug firms could lose billions of dollars in revenue.

But, the champagne was open at Pfizer today. It won a court case against generic giant Teva (NASDAQ:TEVA) over rights to the painkiller Celebrex, which is the world's top arthritis pain-killer. Teva had tried to get the FDA to approve a version for it to sell. Pfizer said this would violate its intellectual property.

Celebrex now belongs to Pfizer until 2015. The more money it can make off current drugs like this, the better the chance that it can invest in R&D to create new drugs for its pipeline. Otherwise, the company is toast along with its investors.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

January 22, 2007 was a tough day for Pfizer executives ... pardon me while I muse.

Imagine you own a business. In the past, things were good. You had all the right products and a solid reputation. Sales were strong, profits were good. But then something happened and suddenly your competition could sell the same products that you had. Oh my goodness! Whatever will you do???

Skeletonize your sales force. Cripple research and development. Curtail manufacturing. WOW! What a cool plan that is! That will send a real strong message to your customers and your competition. Why doesn't every business in a tough spot do that?

I'll tell you why, because it's the path taken by the spineless and lost. It is the way of fools.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) is projecting weakness, fear, and lack of fortitude. Pfizer is signaling it has nothing to offer you. Pfizer should just sell its assets, lock, stock and barrel and let someone new buy and run the show. Operating in fear of patent expiration... what a lack of vision that is.

Pfizer should just close up shop and get down the road. If its best idea for generating profits is cutting heads, well then I think the best way for investors to protect their dignity is by cutting Pfizer.

Please remain calm and move quickly towards the exits... a patent is expiring... OH NO!

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) announced today that it would cut some 10% of its worldwide work force -- 10,000 jobs -- in an effort to stem costs. The company, which announced better than expected earnings today, hopes to cut up to $2 billion in annual costs to help curtail losses due to generic competition.

It said it will also close three research sites in Michigan and two manufacturing plants in New York and Nebraska. It may also sell another manufacturing site in Germany, and close research sites in Japan and France, according to an Associated Press story in Forbes.

Pfizer, which became a household name in 1998 when it introduced Viagra, is in many ways a textbook example of what happens when a pharmaceutical company becomes reliant on one or two blockbuster drugs to drive growth. Drugs only have patent protection for so long, after which they can fall prey to much cheaper generic versions. By the end of this year, Pfizer will have suffered through patent protection losses on several of its big name drugs, including the anti-depressant Zoloft and blood pressure pill Norvasc.

The company suffered a giant setback recently when it had to pull the plug on clinical trials for its "good cholesterol" drug Torcetrapib, which it had hoped would be in place in time to help bolster revenues lost when its blockbuster drug Lipitor loses patent protection in 2010. Lipitor brings in some $12 billion in revenues.

With nothing sexy coming down its pipeline anytime soon, analysts have said they doubt Pfizer has the virility to push major sales growth going forward. Its only recourse looks to be slashing costs, via layoffs and plant closings, or through acquisitions. The fourth quarter already saw CEO Jeffrey Kindler slashing the U.S. sales force by some 20%.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) rolled with the punches in the fourth quarter, delivering results that beat Wall Street forecasts by one penny. Still, the drugmaker is far from out of the woods.

The drugmaker said fourth quarter earnings were $9.45 billion, or $1.32 per share, versus $2.73 billion, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier, buoyed by the sale of its consumer business to Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) . Excluding some costs, profit was 43 cents, beating the 42-cent average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Revenue was $12.66 billion little changed from a year earlier.

Sales the anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor, which Bloomberg News says accounts for almost half the company's profit, fell to $3.34 billion. Sales of the anti-depressant Zoloft also fell because it's no competing against lower-cost generics.

Investors were relieved that the numbers weren't any worse and sent the stock up in pre-market trading.

"In the face of many challenges in 2006, we substantially achieved a number of financial targets that we set early in the year," said Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey B. Kindler in a press release. The company added that it achieved its full-year financial goals including earnings per share of $2.06.

Wall Street is split about the prospects of the New York-based drugmaker.

Eight analysts rate the stock either a strong buy or a buy. Fifteen consider it a hold and one a sell, according to Thomson Financial. Their median target price is $28.

Kindler is expected to announce details of a cost-cutting plan for the company, which could involve several thousand job cuts and a new development and marketing plan, according to the Wall Street Journal. (subscription required). Investors are also awaiting word on the company's 2007 forecast.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know your thoughts on earnings expectations.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) just can't quite get it up anymore. Analysts are calling for a hold and estimating a 42 cent-a-share earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2006. This is the same as year-ago numbers and three cents less than third quarter earnings of 45 cents-a-share.

Little wonder analysts are unenthusiastic -- Pfizer is a big player that's been going through some seriously deflating times recently.

In early December, the company was forced to call off clinical trials of its "good cholesterol" drug Torcetrapib, due to safety concerns. The company had hoped to pair this drug with its main revenue driver Lipitor, the best-selling cholesterol drug ever, which brings in some $12 billion in annual revenue, when Lipitor's patent protection runs out in 2010.

Big Pharma lives and dies by its blockbuster drugs. But by the end of this year, New York-based Pfizer will have limped through three years of patent protection losses on big-name drugs like its anti-depressant Zoloft and blood pressure pill Norvasc.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) CEO Jeffrey Kindler reportedly may cut several thousand jobs as he overhauls the drugmaker which investors have pilloried for failing to have a robust enough pipeline.

Kindler, a lawyer who has never sat on a corporate board, wants to keep research and development spending flat while slashing other spending in areas such as marketing and manufacturing, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), which first reported the plans.

"Despite his relative inexperience in the corner office, Mr. Kindler has won high marks from the board for his boldness, speed of action and frequent communication with directors, says someone familiar with the situation," the Journal says. "He has come across as likeable and accessible with Wall Street, and has pacified critics of the company's transparency by putting its drug pipeline online."

Kindler is expected to offer details of his plans on Monday. Pfizer shares nosedived last month after the company ended the development for a drug that was expected to replace its blockbuster Lipitor, which is responsible for one-quarter of its annual revenue and almost half of its net income. Lipitor faces competition from generic drugs as soon as 2010.

Pfizer and rival Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) may be looking to buy biotech firms to add new experimental drugs as the patents for their existing patents expire, according to Bloomberg News.

As Doug McIntyre noted this morning, Pfizer's drug torcetrapib was pulled off the market this past weekend as the hopes for a once-seemingly large heart attack-prevention drug were shattered in what is becoming a commonplace occurrence in the big pharma arena.

The drug industry, which has been under attack recently due to the perceived nastiness of its marketing practices, high drug prices and the safety of its products, now has some high-profile drug failures on its hands that will be hard to recover from. The torcetrapib drug was designed to prevent heart attacks and strokes by raising the "good cholesterol," or HDL. Apparently, common-sense things like exercising and eating right don't make enough money for pharmaceutical firms, so the drug torcetrapib was invented -- and then crashed and burned.

An independent safety board stopped a 15,000 patient trial comparing the combination of torcetrapib and Pfizer's bestseller, the cholesterol-lowering pill Lipitor due to 82 patients dying while the combination of both drugs was taken. A startling note about this: a statistical analysis showed the difference was unlikely to be the result of chance. Torcetrapib was a very likely culprit in those deaths.

Futures are positive in early morning trade, pointing to a higher start for stock.

Today investors will analyze the data from the retail sector, they will look at some economic indicators for an idea about employment, inflation and productivity. Strong retail sales could help the market rally, as are the falling oil prices of this morning.

This morning, some retailers have already reported same-stores sales and the market is now looking for a 3.4% rise in October for the industry, or a 4.9% increases ex-Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT). Wal-Mart said last week it is expecting a 0.5% gain in same-store sales (sales at stores that have been open at least a year). It had just reported as expected.

Already reporting sales data this morning are Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) with a 4% rise, Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR) with an over 13% decline in sales, and American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEOS) that reported an 8% jump in same-store sales last night. AEOS also raised third-quarter earnings guidance. The stock might still be under pressure as some were expecting a 10% rise in sales. Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) Oct same-store sales rose 11.4% and J.C. Penney Co.'s (NYSE:JCP) sales rose 8.1%.

This morning, some economic data is also due out. First, weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30, but investors are waiting the main job report tomorrow. Also at 8:30, third-quarter productivity and unit labor costs will be reported. Unit labor cost could give investors a better idea about inflation, so barring any surprises, this is the number to watch out for. Finally, at 10:00, September factory orders are due. The European Central Bank makes its decision on interest rate today.

Top news stories this morning:

According to the Wall Street Journal, Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB) said that due to low bids, it is now prepared to sell parts of the business and will consider offers.

Unilever NV/PLC (NYSE:UN, UL) reported a third-quarter profit drop of 48% after one-time gains from asset sales. Sales rose 1.6%. The figures were at the top end of market forecasts. Unilever shares were up over 4% in Europe.

Reporting today:

• Caremark Rx Inc. (CMX) - 63 cents per share for Q3.
• CVS Corp. (CVS) - 32 cents per share for Q3.
• International Paper Co. (IP) - 43 cents per share for Q3.
• Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI) - 29 cents per share for Q4.

Other stories:

Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) reported third-quarter after the bell yesterday with profit climbing sharply to 24 cents per share on a 9% increase in revenue of $5.29. However the company said contracts for future work declined. Analysts were expecting 20 cents per share.

Apple Computer, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) new iPod Shuffle will arrives in stores this Friday, tomorrow.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) to neutral from sell.

General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) has signed a $300 million deal with a Chinese company to make jet engine parts for it.and French engine maker Snecma.

In the auto industry:

• New car registrations in Germany are expected to have risen in October with foreign automakers boosting their share of Europe's biggest car market to 36.1%.
• Advanced Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE:AAP) reported Q3 (ending Oct 7) net income dropped to $58.9 million, or 56 cents a share but it includes 3 cents a share in stock option expense. Revenue rose to $1.1 billion from $1 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 54 cents a share. The company also lowered Q4 guidance.

Following Baidu.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BIDU) earning, yesterday I revisited rumors of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Yahoo!, Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) buying Baidu.

Google is releasing a new version of its mobile email today.

Yahoo is going into the food business starting a site offering thousands of recipes, advice from chefs, video cooking guides and easy-to-use Web tools to help cooks answer the daily question: What's for dinner?

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) will have a fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday, Nov. 16, 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT here.

Wendy's (NYSE:WEN) is offering DVD movie kiosks at its restaurants.

In Pharma: Global pharmaceutical sales grew 5% in the 12 months to August in leading markets, the same rate as recorded a month earlier. Pfizer Inc's (NYSE:PFE) Lipitor cholesterol pill remained the top-selling drug with sales of $11.6 billion.

Russian oil output fell again in October partly because the country and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) holding back the start up of full-scale production due to differences.

XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) and Cingular Wireless (held by AT&T (NYSE:T)) announced a partnership to stream 25 XM music channels to Cingular handsets.