Content Analysis of Television Advertising for Drugs That Switch From Prescription to Over-the-Counter: Balancing Inform
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Content Analysis of Television Advertising for Drugs That Switch From Prescription to Over-the-Counter: Balancing Information and Appeals
Drug Information Journal 46(2) 226-234 ยช The Author(s) 2012 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0092861512438765 http://dij.sagepub.com
Adrienne E. Faerber, MS, and David H. Kreling, PhD
Abstract This study explored the content of advertising for drugs that switched from prescription to over-the-counter (OTC). Unique advertisements from the Vanderbilt TV News Archive were selected for drugs that switched from prescription to OTC from 1996 through 2009 (98 ads for 3 products). Each advertisement was analyzed for the presence of 11 types of drug information and for repetition of 23 types of drug-specific advertising appeals. Prescription and OTC ads had 1 or 2 types of information, and all ads contained the name of the condition the drug is intended to treat. Each ad contained, on average, 7.75 drug appeals, and OTC ads had more appeals (9.1) than prescription ads (6.0). The most often used appeals were symptom control, convenience, and long-lasting. Almost one-third of OTC advertisements (31%) advertised the product had recently switched to OTC. The authors concluded that prescription ads did not contain more drug information than OTC ads, and OTC ads contained more appeals to consumers as to the benefits of the product. Keywords direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA), over-the-counter drug advertising, information, persuasion, over-the-counter switch, Vanderbilt TV News Archive
Introduction Drugs are one of the products most frequently advertised on television,1 and television advertising has become the largest component of consumer-targeted marketing expenses for pharmaceutical companies.2 At present, the United States and New Zealand are the 2 countries that allow most forms of drug advertising that targets consumers.3,4 However, Canada,5 Australia, the United Kingdom, and some of the nations in the European Union6 allow pharmaceutical companies to promote awareness of diseases that may be treated by their products.7 Additionally, few nations have limits to the practice of advertising nonprescription drugs to consumers. The increase in drug advertising to consumers coincides with changes in the health care system that include a transformation of the breadth of health information available to consumers and an expanded role of consumers in health care with models of shared decision making between physicians and patients.8 Historically, in a physician-centric model of providing care and health information, consumers obtained information through talking to their doctor during the medical visit. The new model for consumer
access to health information incorporates diverse formal and informal channels like patient support networks, internet Web sites, and television advertising. All of these new channels help support a consumer-driven model of obtaining health information9 where consumers are collaborators with health care providers in making
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