I loved the piece in Yesterday’s AdAge about how at a time when people are calling for more risk information in direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical ads, a new study from AstraZeneca claims that too much information in a TV spot leaves the consumer overloaded. Three items is optimal. Four is good. Five is OK. Anything more, said the drug maker, and you give the consumer too much information. Oh, I see. Perhaps we should give the consumer no information, then they wouldn’t suffer from information overload. The idea of limiting DTC ads to three to five mentions of risk information runs counter to what the rest of the industry has discussed. The Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly asked for more risk information, and has noted that 82% of pharmaceutical company violations in the past year were related to inadequate presentation of risk information. I have a better idea… Why don’t we do what virtually every other civilized country does, and ban all prescription drug advertising? 
I could have sworn there was a drug store on this street!
Great. a :30 sec spot with wall-to-wall warnings. You mean pharma advertising will get more creative than it already is?
Can't wait.
Warnings in pharma ads are the equivalent of age verification forms on beer and spirits websites – they don’t do s***.
Funny that people would actually trust the few warnings they get in a TV spot vs. a one-on-one with their doctor.
More warnings will just scare people away from the product. So why advertise then. Look, we know certian things have risk, just have the ad say ‘See your doctor for details.’ It's prescription medication anyway, and if the doc doesn't warn the customer of all the side effects, it's his or her fault.
Why should we suffer through warnings on medicine most of us won't take. Sure seems like its only value is an back-asswards way to build brand awareness.
Besides, it's not even OTC stuff we're talking about. How could we even get it anyway without first seeing a physician?
More harm is done through kids converting cough syrup into meth anyway. Where’s the warning there? “Caution, prolonged use may cause your bank account to be cleaned out, your house burned down because your kid's meth lab exploded, and your son to sell the car to get money for more ice."
CUT TO: Beauty shot of family on swings in a park smiling, because they can now breath better without coughing.
Posted by: makethelogobigger | June 24, 2006 8:49 PM | Permalink to Comment