Television advertising for prescription drugs is illegal in almost every country on the planet – but not in the US, where an average of 80 such ads are on American television every hour.first “Ask your doctor,” the narrator tells viewers, urging them to bring in the latest brand-name drugs at their next doctor visit.
Prior to the 1980s, these types of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising were unknown.2 even in the US, but within a few decades they have become one of the most common public health messages Americans see.
This marketing shift turned out to be extremely lucrative for Big Pharma, but its effects on public health – and personal health – are questionable, as advertising continues to drive consumers to love. ask for medication from their doctor,3 whether they need them or not.
FDA’s lax rules pave the way for drug ads on TV
Before the 1980s, pharmaceutical companies marketed directly to doctors, rather than to patients. Pharmaceutical industry executives even told Congress at the time that they believed direct advertising of drugs to consumers was not “in the public health interest” and “cannot be accomplished.” safely”.4
However, a cultural shift soon emerged to empower patients to become more involved in their own health care, rather than just obeying their doctors. Advertisers have caught on to this trend, however, drug advertising to consumers only appears in advertisements in print, even in magazines, but not on TV.
This is because it is required by the US FDA to include all drug risks and side effects in advertising, which can be done on printed pages but is much more difficult to do on TV commercials or radio.
However, a strange flaw has allowed drug ads to run without clearly stating risks and side effects, as long as it also doesn’t mention the disease the drug is intended to treat.5 This is most likely related to the fact that the industry has finally come to grips with the federal regulators responsible for protecting the public.
Not surprisingly, this led to confusion, leading to a relaxed request from the FDA in 1997, which stated that advertising must only include the “major” side effects of the drug, and refer viewers to one source so they can find the rest.
Even when viewers end up looking for a complete list of side effects, this information rarely frightens patients. Everything is designed to help you eliminate the risks and see the drug from the angle you want, from the actors using their compelling voices to the beautiful visuals and music selection.
The removal of the requirement to list all drug side effects in ads paved the way for online drug ads, and the rest is history. By 2004, annual spending on drug advertising had quadrupled,6 manufactures brand-name drugs such as Lipitor, Lunesta, Xanax and Ambien.
Patient claims have a ‘profound’ effect on doctors
By 2003, US DTC prescription drug advertising had reached $3.2 billion.7 For comparison, it hits $6.58 billion in 2020, excluding social.8 The profound way it affects patients has been well documented from the outset, with critics arguing that the ad has led to the overprescribing of “unnecessary, expensive, and potentially dangerous drugs.” harm”.9
By 2005, a randomized controlled trial was published in JAMA to determine the effect of patient claims for directly advertised drugs, in this case an antiretroviral. depression.ten Patient actors visit doctors, describe symptoms of depression in half of the visits and the other half say “they are feeling depressed,” describing an adjustment disorder that usually doesn’t need it. Immediate drug treatment.11
In some visits, patients mentioned seeing an advertisement for the antidepressant Paxil, while in others they did not mention any medication. Patients who mentioned Paxil were more likely to be referred to mental health counseling and receive an antidepressant prescription, whether they were describing symptoms of depression or simply “feeling.” bored”.
According to study author Dr. Richard Kravitz, “For us, it is the double-edged sword that direct-to-consumer advertising presents.”twelfth Prescription rates were highest when patients made a general request for a medication – 76% of such visits resulted in a prescription, compared with 31% of those who did not request a medication.13
Targeted Smart TV Drug Ads Increase Drug Sales
DTC drug ads are getting “smarter” as the years go by, and now marketers are using ads that are targeted because of your viewing habits, delivered directly to you via your smart TV. friend. DeepIntent, a healthcare advertising technology company “built to impact patient health and business outcomes”14 conducted research on consumer behavior and ad-supported content.
The majority of viewers of “connected TV” (CTV) or smart TV (64%) said they would rather watch ads than pay more to watch content. DeepIntent surveyed 2,900 US adults about self-reported viewing habits and compared it with data gathered using “automatic content recognition (ACR) technology,” developed with a partnership of LG Ads Solutions, a native advertising provider for LG smart TVs with “audience targeting data. ”15
Their first finding was that while many believed they were watching TV via a cable or satellite box, most were actually streaming content through their smart TVs – “that is, more than half of all Viewers may be watching CTV content without even realizing it.” DeepIntent explains.16
The implication is that they have a larger audience than previously realized to target with their advertising campaigns, not only through smart TVs but also across other devices such as desktops and computers. your smartphone. According to DeepIntent, doing so is known to affect patient outcomes:17
“DeepIntent… announced full integration with LG Ads Solutions’ real-time ACR database covering over 30 million LG smart TVs in the United States. DeepIntent is the first and only demand-side platform (DSP) with this capability, providing healthcare marketers with unparalleled targeting capabilities for all digital formats, including CTV. , desktop and mobile devices.
‘For too long, healthcare marketers have struggled to reach the right audiences at scale. By combining the targeting power of CTV with ACR data, DeepIntent’s patented technology optimizes campaign audience quality and scenario performance in real time,’ John Mangano, VP DeepIntent Senior President of Analytics said. “Consumer research has demonstrated that this combination affects patient outcomes.”
27% asked their doctor about a drug from an ad
DeepIntent’s research results show that 30% of people said a pharmaceutical ad provided helpful information to someone in their family, and 27% spoke to their doctor about medical treatment after they know about it from an advertisement.18
The findings support the company’s earlier data, which suggests that “pharmaceutical advertising can help patients take a more active role in research into treatments” and that “advertising influences decisions” patient’s decision to use the drug prescribed by the doctor”.19
The most common action people take after seeing a drug ad is to conduct research, and this research turns out to be the single most important factor in medication adherence – even more so than previous medication experience that person’s own. They intend to use targeted advertisements to increase drug sales even further. DeepIntent CEO Chris Paquette said in a news release, “We have evidence that more relevant advertising drives real results for our customers.”20
Through its partnership with LG Ads Solutions, DeepIntent is using native advertising to drive sales. Another tactic is original content, also known as sponsored content or branded content, written by marketers but seen as real journalism. Sponsored content is the media’s response to widely ignored banner ads, ad-blocking technology, and widespread reader dislike for pop-ups and hijacking screens. control.
It also fills web pages without the need to pay writers – instead, sponsors pay for media on their website or in the publication in which the content appears. Some of the content is innocuous and even amusing, but other original content like “Can Statins Reduce Alzheimer’s Risk?” found on WebMD21 or “How Testosterone benefits your body” is marketing by Pharma masquerading as unbiased information.
Unlimited Lobbying, Advertising Budget
Marketing prescription drugs, medical services, testing, and even disease awareness is big business in America, and spending has been steadily climbing since 1997. That year, spending on marketing health care was 17.7 billion USD, increased to 29.9 billion USD. in 2016.22
DTC spending grew the fastest, from 11.9% of total spending to 32%. DTC’s prescription drug ads alone accounted for $6 billion in 2016, which amounts to 4.6 million ads, including 663,000 TV ads, primarily for high-cost biologics and cancer immunotherapy.
Epidemic awareness campaigns are another type of marketing campaign carried out by pharmaceutical companies aimed at diseases that are treated with their drugs. Such campaigns grew in number from 44 in 1997 to 401 in 2016, with spending increasing from $177 million to $430 million over the same period.
DTC marketing for medical services also increased from $542 million to $2.9 billion, with spending increases particularly notable for hospitals, dental centers, cancer centers, clinics, and hospitals. mental health and addiction treatment and medical services, such as home health care.23
Besides DTC advertising, Big Pharma is still marketing directly to medical professionals – an area that accounts for the most professional spending, according to a JAMA study of medical marketing in the US.24
“Marketing of pharmaceuticals to health professionals accounts for the majority of spending and remains high even with new policies to limit industry influence,” said the researchers, from the Center for Traditional Medicine. Information from the Dartmouth Institute, note. “Despite the rise of marketing over 20 years, regulatory oversight remains limited.”25
Annual lobbying for pharmaceuticals and health products has increased since 2013,26 and by 2021, the pharmaceutical industry is the top lobbying group in Washington, spending more than any other industry – $356.6 million.27 Among their top priorities in 2019 was fierce opposition to the drug cost reduction bill,28 and, another eye-opening statistic – almost 60% of Big Pharma lobbyists are former government employees.29
So when you see an ad for a drug on your TV or computer, resist the urge to believe it works for you and see what it actually is – a marketing tactic with The sole purpose is to increase sales for the drug industry.
