Direct To Consumer Advertising Essay

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing of pharmaceuticals has grown increasingly in the past decade. The American public views prescription drug advertising for a wide range of medical conditions, including high cholesterol, depression, allergies, and erectile dysfunction. The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the content of these advertisements. Critics also have taken the position that the advertisements garner unearned trust from the public, are misleading, and promote unnecessary use of prescription drugs for common problems associated with aging. Proponents counter that DTC ads help eliminate stigmas associated with certain medical conditions, give patients an active role in their health care management, and

Advertising is a complicated form of marketing, it’s almost like an art form. One must be acutely aware of their audience and what captures their attention, otherwise the advertisement will fall flat. There is a myriad of different ways to lure consumers into buying a product; for example, the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) managed through a series of advertisements to convince individuals of the importance in getting a vaccination for the influenza virus. It was applied using multiple techniques, namely the methods of universal appeal and association. These techniques helped the CDC to effectively promotes the flu vaccine and get their message across to a wide range of people.

Bill Maher once mocked the aggressive nature of the drug advertisements that direct you to tell your doctor that their drug is right for you. “Tell your doctor? Shouldn’t your doctor tell you what drugs you need. When you tell your doctor isn’t he just a dealer at that point,” said Bill Maher. The American public generally trusts their government to protect them from the hidden dangers prescription and over-the-counter drugs. However, that trust isn’t fully warranted as the FDA has been featured in the GAO report of “high risk” agencies which need drastic reforms. After all, the FDA is in charge of regulating the shameless drug advertisements that inundate the airwaves.

Direct-to-consumer advertisements of prescription drugs have become common aspects in today's advertising mediums such as Television and magazines. Direct-to-consumer advertising has partially been brought by the development of the pharmaceutical marketplace. These developments have contributed to the presentation of more information to patients in attempts to make the health care system better. In the current pharmaceutical marketplace, advertising has become an important aspect for survival and growth in the health care outlets. For many health care outlets, television is regarded as the most efficient way for advertising in the pharmaceutical marketplace. While there are considerations on whether prescription drugs should be advertised to the general public, it's important to note that health care consumers should make their own choices.

DTC prescription drug ads raise people’s awareness of possible health issues and encourage them to seek medical advice they might not get otherwise. Knowledge is power, and DTC ads help people become educated about drugs, medical conditions, and

The pharmaceutical industry uses more intensive, widespread advertisements than any other industry in the United States (Federal Trade Commission 11). According to James Greenan, former presiding officer of the Federal Trade Commission, the industry's ads "usually function to present a problem-solution equation and register that equation in the memory of the potential consumer along with the brand name of the product involved" (Greenan 95). The brand name is presented as a possible solution to a problem. It is hoped that, in the potential consumer's mind, the brand name is associated with relief from an uncomfortable situation. For example, the two ad slogans,

The product more or less receives a seal of approval without the consumer ever really knowing whether the “expert” is truly an expert at all. The professional’s actual doctorate may not even be in the medical field, but in a completely different field and unrelated all together. This is done because viewers ask fewer questions about a product or information when backed by a professional. This tactic is used to gain the trust of the viewers. Once they have the viewers’ trust in hand, Iovative Health Sciences, Inc., persuades these young female viewers to believe almost anything that they want them too. These women become inclined to believe that Hydroxycut will work for them; fast, easy, and with no hassles. This method of gaining the female consumers trust coupled with Hydroxycut ads’ other advertising fallacies for example, the airbrushed and digitally enhanced photos along with Hydroxycut’s over exaggerated or falsified statements; make their already vulnerable female audience more susceptible to their deceptions. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an agency created to protect America’s consumers, drew up a report called, “Weight-Loss Advertising: An Analysis of Current Trends,” which investigated weight-loss advertising. In 2001, a content analysis found that over half of all advertising for weight-loss products used fabricated, unsupported claims. In an investigation of 300 ads from

“This is your Brain on Drugs” was a public service announcement created in 1987 by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America foundation. The ad was later re-imaged in 1998 under the same title, and much of the same premise. The arguments of both advertisements were the caustic effects of drugs on your brain. The PFDA formed in the mid eighties with the simple idea of using ads to advocate the dangers of drugs use. They believed the persuasive nature of advertisements could denounce a product as effectively as they could promote them. Their first real success came with the original “This is your Brain on Drugs” advertisement. As a result, many of today’s public service announcements mirror the same techniques. These techniques greatly

Medical commercials are something that the general public have learned to phase out if it has nothing to do with them or anyone they know. These prescription drug advertisements are usually jam-packed with too much information and often leaves their audience snoring. However, the newest commercial for Opdivo (Nivolumab) recently caught my attention. Through its use of emotional tones, symbolic visuals, and hopeful tagline, Opdivo is able to capture the interest of someone suffering with certain diseases and inform them about their product. The history of drug advertisements is a long one, and Opdivo’s “New Hope” commercial simply adds to its legacy by using the following aspects to grab their audience’s

Over the last few decades, American culture has been forever changed by the huge amount of advertisement the people are subjected to. Advertising has become such an integral part of society, many people will choose whether or not they want to buy a product based only on their familiarity with it rather than the product’s price or effectiveness. Do to that fact, companies must provide the very best and most convincing advertisements as possible. Those companies have, in fact, done

Every woman wants diamonds because they are beautiful, rare, and are a symbol of success. There is something about diamonds that make every woman want one. Diamonds make a woman feel bold, sophisticated, and powerful. Something magazine recently published a diamond ad for A Diamond Is Forever.Com. A Diamond Is Forever . Com is a website that does not sell diamonds, but displays all the new styles of diamonds and how to purchase or create the perfect diamond for a customer. In this ad they are advertising a new style of diamond ring called the right hand ring. The advertisement is of a young, beautiful woman staring directly at you with a seductive look. On her right had she is wearing a

The Impact of Pseudoscience on Consumers Pseudoscience is known by many as false science. Many consumers are convinced by companies that sells these products provide instant cures that lead to a healthier lifestyle. These products are scientific theories that have little evidence to back up their scientific claims. The Internet, health food stores, magazines, and commercials are just a few ways that companies can target potential consumers to sell their products. Medical information searched by consumers via the Internet has become the largest source of information worldwide. Consumers search the Internet for weight loss strategies, treatments for autism, anti-aging creams, male enhancement, and prevention of cancer and heart

After the attack on the world trade center, anxiety was very much a thing in New York City. As advertisements for anti-anxiety medication began to pop up on the streets and television networks, notice was taken. Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertisements have the ability to encourage people to seek medical attention for conditions/symptoms that could otherwise go unnoticed (Mintzes 908). In an area so stricken by anxiety such as a traumatic event, symptoms may very easily go unnoticed, as they are in the majority of the population. Advertisements that target the public and explain the symptoms and reasons behind these feelings, once again have the ability to educate consumers. An educated consumer is more likely to speak to their doctor about a condition or a medication. The proponents of direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertisements focus largely on educating the consumer and patient-provider communication.

When an advertiser places one of their advertisements into a newspaper, they want their advertisement to appeal to the readers of that particular magazine. They could have the exact same message, but considering their audience, they could make it more effective if they use a different strategy to market their product. This is very common for advertising strategies to change when the content of the magazine changes. You can relate the way that the magazine producers choose their ads by when Steve Craig says that "…program producers and schedulers must consider the target audience needs of their clients" (162). The types of advertisements are driven by the content of the magazine. Sports Illustrated provides a

Pharmaceutical marketing is a current health care marketing technique, which is in television, the Internet, radio, and other media source. Pharmaceutical marketing is the business of advertising of drugs. There are many marketing techniques that organizations use everywhere, but health care marketing can be slightly different. In this paper, I will describe my opinion on current health care marketing techniques and trends. The second topic is how I feel about current marketing techniques are affecting consumer trends and if there any I will examine how. Last, I will evaluate the positive and negative