The Dangerous Side Effect Of Digital Wellness

Do you get butterflies before a first date? Sweaty palms? Maybe you let out a nervous giggle or two? Well, direct-to-consumer digital healthcare platform Hers is here to save the day. The woman-centric wellness brand makes getting your hands on prescription Propranolol, a cardiovascular medication that has the serendipitous side effect of masking symptoms of anxiety, easier than ever — just add to cart and fill out a questionnaire, and you, too, can find sweet relief from basic human nature. Okay, that’s not actually the mission of Hers… even if its now-infamous, Propranolol-pushing Facebook ad, published earlier this month, indicated otherwise. The too-casual, somewhat reductive, highly-stylized journey from ad to cart caught the attention of influencer Yana Shept of @gelcream, who broadcasted screenshots — along with her candid distaste — to her 109k Instagram followers. The story was then picked up by @esteelaundry, an anonymous online collective known for calling out sketchy behavior in the beauty industry; and the rest, as they say, is history. The kind of history that lives on ad infinitum in Story Highlights. Read more at Fashionista.