John Elway, 43, formerly of the Denver Broncos, has gastric reflux disease. Longtime San Francisco 49er Joe Montana, 47, has high blood pressure. Both take prescription drugs.

Two pharmaceutical companies have hired the football veterans to tell their tales. The companies hope the publicity will get couch potatoes in to see their doctors, which in turn could boost sales.

The retired quarterbacks hope their stories will motivate fans to face their own medical demons. But they're underdogs in this area for two reasons: They aren't part of the big-budget Super Bowl TV ad blitz, and the press is leery of stars pitching products.

Millions of dollars will be spent this weekend on TV ads, including those for drugs like Levitra and Cialis that compete in the $1 billion-a-year industry in the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Because the drug companies backing Elway and Montana have less to gain — there are lots of drugs to treat both common conditions — it's cheaper to pay the baby boomer quarterbacks undisclosed amounts to compete for media attention this weekend.

But many national media companies routinely decline interviews with celebrities who are paid by a drug company. When such sources are quoted, the connection with the drugmaker is usually made clear so that the reader can consider their motives.

Because drug companies can't count on media and TV news coverage, the Internet becomes a key link to consumers once a celebrity is signed on. Type "Montana" and "hypertension" into a search engine, and up pops the drug company's cyber-doorstep.

A site featuring Elway will be unveiled Friday.

Each man says he is less concerned with selling his sponsor's drug than getting people help. "I'm not a doctor. I can just tell my story," Elway says. "Hopefully people won't have to go through what I went through."

Caught early, both conditions often can be eliminated by simple changes in diet and exercise. That means that a greater awareness of the problem could help people detect their own problems before they need prescription drugs.

Elway takes Prevacid and is paid by its maker, TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. He had heartburn a couple of times a week until a particularly bad Denver Broncos season in the early 1990s, when he began having trouble swallowing. "I was the macho football player who was afraid to go to the doctor. I just kept it to myself."

But the team trainer sent him to a physician.

"It's a scary and miserable thing to go through," he says. It's also potentially life-threatening. Stomach acid is hard on the esophagus. In time, it can cause cells to change and become precancerous.

Montana is one of 58 million Americans who have high blood pressure, which raises the risk of heart attack and stroke.

"I went in for a routine check-up and it was really high," Montana says. The doctor told him not to do anything strenuous until he'd seen a cardiologist. "I was shocked."

Montana takes Lotrel, and was hired by its maker, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., the company says, in part because of his "Q Score," a marketing ranking of a celebrity's appeal. He got high ratings from women and Hispanics.

Both men will be in Houston this week for the big game. "If you can affect one person," Montana says, "it's worth it."

Source : http://www.usatoday.com