Thursday, August 23, 2007
Give Me The Drugs: The Seduction of Prescription Drug Advertising
Within the last decade, prescription drug advertising has grown 3 fold, thus securing it's position as commonplace in the consumer market. No longer are advertisements for these drugs few and far between; now that these ads are readily displayed on television, the drug literacy of the average American has also expanded. These ads for pharmaceuticals appear regularly on television and convince many Americans that they have conditions that they may not actually have. This increase in prescription drug advertising and the subsequent result of their consumption show the strength of ad power these drug companies have. Large brands such as Lunesta, Nexium, Crestor have spent more than 200 million dollars on advertising and marketing to make these names commonplace. The advertising campaigns have been successful because of their marginalization of the real risk involved, while making them appeal to your emotions first. Once the consumers feel a connection with the ad itself, they'll seek the drug that will be conducive to their "condition". For example, Lunesta's advertising campaign featured a butterfly logo and employed dream-like sentiment throughout the message capturing the audience with its promise of a full nights sleep. The ads often feature a tired mother or a stressed out father; situations that are very common to many Americans. Often theses drug ads list the side effects towards the end of the ad, after capturing its audience with its message. This strategy has proven to be a success as the number of Americans on prescription drugs is rising. These companies are aware that many consumers are concerned more with perceived quality and results than fact and do an excellent job of convincing consumers that they are truly informed.
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2 comments:
just out of curiosity what brought about this post? i think its very well written! would love to read more about the articles or webpages you used as a source for this post.
while the drug companies are spending all this money, in the end the decision to prescribe the drug is in the hands of the doctor. what role do you think the advertising is playing in that context?
thank you for your comment! This blog was written by Jane Brownfield and Corey Fitzgerald-Schepis, we both picked this topic and wrote it together for the first week.
from Jane Brownfield: I think the increase of drug advertising and awarness has led more consumers into the doctor's office with questions about these prescriptions. Not to blame the doctors, but pharmaceutical reps do readily distribute free samples to doctor's offices, which can effect the doctor's diagnosis and drug brand awareness. (He/she is a consumer too). I think in most consumer's minds, they believe drug ads'inform' them because of their use of medical jargon and doctor-like language, (ie. "do you suffer from..." or "do you experience____ symptoms?"). Drug companies are aware that patients trust a doctor's advice on medication, and they have capitalized tremendously on that trust.
In this way the drug companies have effectively marketed their brand to 'both' of their target customers (doctors/patients) by providing the doctor with the product and brand knowledge and the patient with the questions.
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