“Ask your doctor today about [insert drug].”
“Do you suffer from allergy symptoms, depression, erectile dysfunction, or …?”
Doesn’t matter. You name it and they’ve got a drug for you!
“Ask your doctor today about Claritin, Zoloft, or Viagra etc.”
(Side effects may include nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, other serious illnesses and death.)
Sound familiar to you?
In recent years, the number of pharmaceutical ads on TV, radio, and magazines has noticeably increased to a point where they can compete with, say, car commercials. This is due to a recent discovery that not only can they sell their products to doctors but they can also get the message directly through to the patients- the ultimate consumer.
This new trend of direct to consumer pharma marketing is so worrying because it’s terrifyingly effective. Numerous ex pharmaceutical representatives have come out to warn the general public about pharmaceutical companies and their crafty ways of marketing. Stick in a few devious tactics and consumers will buy anything. For example, with the use of easy-to-relate everyday folks, trustworthy medical professionals, celebrity endorsements, taglines, facts, and statistics all providing marketing (not medical) information that’s slyly shaped to clear through legal regulations.
The amount of money pharmaceutical companies are spending on marketing drastically surpasses amount that’s put into research (marketing > research). This is a very serious situation that should not be overlooked. It’s important we note the fact that not every symptom requires us to ingest a drug to treat it and that sometimes the potential risks of taking a certain drug shadow the benefits. Not to mention the amount of money people are willing to spend to get their hands on the latest prescription drug; but then again, someone ought to pay for all the advertising.
Gardasil – Using everyday women, pushing the fear of getting cervical cancer, pitching fact after fact, “ONE LESS” tagline
Peptobismol – Who doesn’t know this catchy jingle?
Latisse- A pill to grow lashes! What can I say…