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PubMed2004

Gender bias in cardiovascular advertisements.

RATIONALE: Women with cardiovascular disease are treated less aggressively than men. The reasons for this disparity are unclear. Pharmaceutical advertisements may influence physician practices and patient care. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: To determine if female and male patients are equally likely to be featured in cardiovascular advertisements. METHODS: We examined all cardiovascular advertisements from US editions of general medical and cardiovascular journals published between 1 January 1996 and 30 June 1998. For each unique advertisement, we recorded the total number of journal appearances and the number of appearances in journals' premium positions. We noted the gender, age, race and role of both the primary figure and the majority of people featured in the advertisement. RESULTS: Nine hundred and nineteen unique cardiovascular advertisements were identified of which 254 depicted a patient as the primary figure. A total of 20%[95% confidence interval (CI) 15.3-25.5%] of these advertisements portrayed a female patient, while 80% (95% CI 74.5-84.7%) depicted a male patient, P <0.0001. Female patient advertisements appeared 249 times (13.3%; 95% CI 8.6-18.9%) while male patient advertisements appeared 1618 times (86.7%; 95% CI 81.1-91.4%), P <0.0001. Female patient advertisements also had significantly fewer mean appearances than male patient advertisements in journals' premium positions (0.82 vs. 1.99, P=0.02). Similar results were seen when the advertisements were analysed according to predominant gender. CONCLUSIONS: Despite increasing emphasis on cardiovascular disease in women, significant under-representation of female patients exists in cardiovascular advertisements. Physicians should be cognizant of this gender bias.

Advertising↗
PubMed2004

The tobacco industry's accounts of refining indirect tobacco advertising in Malaysia.

OBJECTIVE: To explore tobacco industry accounts of its use of indirect tobacco advertising and trademark diversification (TMD) in Malaysia, a nation with a reputation for having an abundance of such advertising. METHODS: Systematic keyword and opportunistic website searches of formerly private tobacco industry internal documents made available through the Master Settlement Agreement. RESULTS: 132 documents relevant to the topic were reviewed. TMD efforts were created to advertise cigarettes after advertising restrictions on direct advertising were imposed in 1982. To build public credibility the tobacco companies set up small companies and projected them as entities independent of tobacco. Each brand selected an activity or event such as music, travel, fashion, and sports that best suited its image. RJ Reynolds sponsored music events to advertise its Salem brand while Philip Morris used Marlboro World of Sports since advertising restrictions prevented the use of the Marlboro man in broadcast media. Despite a ban on tobacco advertisements in the mass media, tobacco companies were the top advertisers in the country throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The media's dependence on advertising revenue and support from the ruling elite played a part in delaying efforts to ban indirect advertising. CONCLUSION: Advertising is crucial for the tobacco industry. When faced with an advertising ban they created ways to circumvent it, such as TMDs.

Advertising↗
PubMed2006

The temporal relationship between advertising and sales of low-tar cigarettes.

OBJECTIVE AND HYPOTHESIS: To determine whether a temporal relationship exists between the advertising and sales of low-tar cigarettes. It was hypothesised that increases in the advertising of low-tar cigarettes would precede increases in sales for these cigarettes. METHODS: The themes of cigarette advertisements were reviewed and coded for 20 low-tar cigarette brands advertised in 13 widely read magazines in the US between 1960 and 1996. These 20 brands represented most of the low-tar cigarette advertisements and cigarette sales from 1967 to 1996. Cigarette sales data were obtained from the 1994 Maxwell report that summarises all cigarette sales from 1925 to 1990. If the advertisement referred to the low-tar attributes of the cigarette advertised, the advertisement was coded as having a low-tar theme and was included in the analysis. RESULTS: Five different graphical presentations of the relationship between the advertising and sales of the 20 low-tar cigarette brands showed a temporal relationship between low-tar advertising and sales for these brands. This relationship was observed for brands that introduced a low-tar alternative into an existing brand family (eg, Marlboro Light) and for new exclusively low-tar brands (eg, Carlton). Despite large increases in the advertising for the exclusively low-tar brands, sales of these brands remained low relative to sales of the low-tar alternative brands. CONCLUSIONS: Increases in print advertising of 20 of the most popular low-tar cigarette brands were followed by increases in sales for these cigarettes. Despite increases in the advertising of exclusively low-tar brands in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, the sales of these brands never matched the sales of the low-tar alternative brands. This suggests that it may have been easier to get smokers to switch to low-tar brands within a brand family compared with entirely new low-tar brands. Over the past 30 years, the marketing of low-tar cigarettes as a healthier alternative to higher-tar cigarettes has resulted in these brands dominating the market, and may have kept concerned smokers from quitting.

Advertising↗
PubMed1999

Accuracy of information on printed over-the-counter drug advertisements.

Direct-to-consumer drug advertising is a useful medium for educating people and disseminating product information. Consumers make product purchase decisions based on the information gained from advertisements. If advertisements are misleading, consumers may not have adequate drug knowledge to detect this misinformation. The objective of this study was to evaluate print advertisements for over-the-counter (OTC) products. Five clinical pharmacists evaluated print advertisements appearing in three consumer periodicals. Advertisements were selected over a nine month period beginning January 1994. Accuracy of information on OTC advertisements was determined based on federal guidelines. Additionally, reviewers identified deficiencies in advertisements that may mislead consumers. According to reviewers, around 50% of advertisements lacked accurate statements. Side effects were indicated on only one advertisement. All advertisements were indicated by reviewers to be more promotional than educational. Reviewers indicated that more than 50% of advertisements lacked information essential for consumers to make an informed choice during self-medication decisions. This study indicates that OTC drug advertisements lack information necessary for consumers to make informed purchase decisions. Inaccurate information and lack of information on side effects could mislead consumers causing harmful adverse events.

Advertising↗
PubMed2006

Effects of alcohol advertising exposure on drinking among youth.

OBJECTIVE: To test whether alcohol advertising expenditures and the degree of exposure to alcohol advertisements affect alcohol consumption by youth. DESIGN: Longitudinal panel using telephone surveys. SETTING: Households in 24 US media markets, April 1999 to February 2001. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 15 to 26 years were randomly sampled within households and households within media markets. Markets were systematically selected from the top 75 media markets, representing 79% of the US population. The baseline refusal rate was 24%. Sample sizes per wave were 1872, 1173, 787, and 588. Data on alcohol advertising expenditures on television, radio, billboards, and newspapers were collected. MAIN EXPOSURES: Market alcohol advertising expenditures per capita and self-reported alcohol advertising exposure in the prior month. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Self-reported number of alcoholic drinks consumed in the prior month. RESULTS: Youth who saw more alcohol advertisements on average drank more (each additional advertisement seen increased the number of drinks consumed by 1% [event rate ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.02]). Youth in markets with greater alcohol advertising expenditures drank more (each additional dollar spent per capita raised the number of drinks consumed by 3% [event rate ratio, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.05]). Examining only youth younger than the legal drinking age of 21 years, alcohol advertisement exposure and expenditures still related to drinking. Youth in markets with more alcohol advertisements showed increases in drinking levels into their late 20s, but drinking plateaued in the early 20s for youth in markets with fewer advertisements. Control variables included age, gender, ethnicity, high school or college enrollment, and alcohol sales. CONCLUSION: Alcohol advertising contributes to increased drinking among youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Impact of tobacco advertising and promotion on increasing adolescent smoking behaviours.

BACKGROUND: The tobacco industry denies that their marketing is targeted at young nonsmokers, but it seems more probable that tobacco advertising and promotion influences the attitudes of nonsmoking adolescents, and makes them more likely to try smoking. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of tobacco advertising and promotion on nonsmoking adolescents' future smoking behaviour. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Group specialized register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, Sociological Abstracts, PsycLIT, ERIC, WorldCat, Dissertation Abstracts, ABI Inform and Current Contents to August 2002. SELECTION CRITERIA: We selected longitudinal studies that assessed individuals' smoking behaviour and exposure to advertising, receptivity or attitudes to tobacco advertising, or brand awareness at baseline, and assessed smoking behaviour at follow-ups. Participants were adolescents aged 18 or younger who were not regular smokers at baseline. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Studies were prescreened for relevance by one reviewer. Two reviewers independently assessed relevant studies for inclusion. Data were extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second. MAIN RESULTS: Nine longitudinal studies that followed up a total of over 12,000 baseline nonsmokers met inclusion criteria. The studies measured exposure or receptivity to advertising and promotion in a variety of ways, including having a favourite advertisement or an index of receptivity based on awareness of advertising and ownership of a promotional item. One study measured the number of tobacco advertisements in magazines read by participants. All studies assessed smoking behaviour change in participants who reported not smoking at baseline. In all studies the nonsmoking adolescents who were more aware of tobacco advertising or receptive to it, were more likely to have experimented with cigarettes or become smokers at follow-up. There was variation in the strength of association, and the degree to which potential confounders were controlled for. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal studies consistently suggest that exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion is associated with the likelihood that adolescents will start to smoke. Based on the strength of this association, the consistency of findings across numerous observational studies, temporality of exposure and smoking behaviours observed, as well as the theoretical plausibility regarding the impact of advertising, we conclude that tobacco advertising and promotion increases the likelihood that adolescents will start to smoke.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Advertising in dermatology journals: journals' and journal editors' policies, practices, and attitudes.

BACKGROUND: Problems in some advertisements in medical journals, including dermatology journals, have been identified in various studies. Examples have included poorly supported claims, failure to balance claims of efficacy with potential adverse effects of a drug, and slogans that recommend prescribing a drug for groups of patients different from those assessed in a referenced study. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess dermatology journals' and dermatology journal editors' policies, practices, and attitudes toward prescription-medicine advertising in dermatology journals. METHODS: We searched dermatology journals' paper copies and World Wide Web sites for statements of advertising policy and sent surveys to dermatology journal editors. RESULTS: Of 22 journals, 8 (36.4%) had an advertising policy published in a paper copy or a World Wide Web site. Of 17 editors (70.8%) from 17 journals (77.3%) who responded to the survey, 3 reported having an advertising policy; these policies were also identified in searches of paper copies or World Wide Web sites. Two editors whose journals each had a published policy reported not having one. In all, 7 editors (41.2%) reported that they or other physician members of the editorial board reviewed advertisements before publication in the previous year. A total of 8 editors (47.1%) agreed somewhat or strongly that advertisements in medical journals, including dermatology journals, generally present information that is accurate, and 12 (70.6%) agreed somewhat or strongly with the same statement regarding advertisements appearing in their own journal. In all, 12 editors (70.6%) agreed somewhat or strongly that advertisements should be reviewed for accuracy by the editorial staff before publication, and 3 (17.6%) agreed somewhat or strongly that advertisements should be reviewed for accuracy before publication in a peer-review process similar to that used for submitted manuscripts. LIMITATIONS: This study did not assess processes by which editors or other members of editorial or publishing staffs review advertisements before publication. CONCLUSIONS: Policies, practices, and attitudes toward advertising vary among dermatology journals and dermatology journal editors. Journals, especially those without a policy, should consider establishing policies to separate and, therefore, minimize conflicts of interest between editorial and business aspects of publication.

Advertising↗
PubMed2005

The association of consumer cost-sharing and direct-to-consumer advertising with prescription drug use.

BACKGROUND: Previous research on the impact of various cost-sharing strategies on prescription drug use has not considered the impact of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. OBJECTIVE: To explore the association of cost-containment strategies with prescription drug use and to determine if the association is moderated by DTC prescription drug advertising. METHODS: The study population included 288 280 employees and dependents aged 18 to 65 years with employer-sponsored health insurance contributing to the MEDSTAT MarketScan administrative data set. Person-level enrollment and claims data were obtained for beneficiaries enrolled continuously during July 1997 through December 1998. Direct-to-consumer advertising data were obtained from Competitive Media Reporting and linked to the MEDSTAT enrollment files. Localized DTC advertising expenditures for one class of medication were evaluated and matched with prescription claims for eligible MEDSTAT contributors. The association of various types and levels of cost-sharing incentives with incident product use was evaluated, controlling for the level of DTC advertising, health status, and other demographic covariates. RESULTS: The relationship of cost-sharing amounts with drug use was modified by the level of DTC advertising in a geographic market. This relationship was dependent on the type of cost-sharing, distinguishing between co-payments for provider visits and co-payments for prescription drugs. Compared with low-advertising markets, individuals residing in markets with high levels of advertising and paying provider co-payments of $10.00 or more were more likely to use the advertised product. In the same markets, higher prescription drug co-payments were associated with a decreased likelihood of using the advertised product. A similar relationship was not observed for the nonadvertised competitor. CONCLUSIONS: Among insured individuals, response to cost-sharing strategies is moderated by DTC prescription drug advertising. The relative ability of cost-sharing strategies to influence drug use should be interpreted with caution in the presence of DTC advertising.

2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Self-regulation systems to control tobacco advertising. An empirical analysis].

OBJECTIVE: Against the background of the debate aroused by the tobacco advertising ban as a result of Directive 98/43/EC and of the Proposed Directive of 5/9/2001, we aimed to evaluate how self-regulation of tobacco advertising systems has worked in the last 5 years and to evaluate its effectiveness and relevance as a potential tool in public health prevention. METHODS: We performed a content and discourse analysis of all advertisements appearing in the Sunday supplements of the three weekly newspapers with the widest circulation in Spain (El Pais, El Mundo, and ABC) between January 1995 and January 2000 to detect infractions of the norms of the self-regulation code of the Spanish Tobacco Association (Asociacion Espanola de Tabaco [AET]) regarding: a) the identity of models used in advertising; b) direct or indirect claims for the therapeutic properties of smoking; c) depiction of cigarettes in advertisements, and d) printed warnings on advertisements. RESULTS: We examined 910 banners and 369 advertisements. Very few advertisements displayed rational arguments on elements such as price (13%) or product components (7%). Although the AET's code was generally respected, the advertisements displayed a series of subtleties that allowed the industry to get around the code: 10 of the 369 advertisements reviewed depicted famous people (mainly pilots and artists) and one third of them used iconic personages (Joe Camel or Marlboro Man); one advertisement suggested the therapeutic properties of tobacco and almost all linked smoking with social success and leisure. Although cigarettes were not depicted, 18% of the advertisements showed substitutes for cigarettes in various places (12%) and a large percentage infringed the code's recommendations on printed warnings. CONCLUSIONS: The industry's use of creative subtleties infringing its self-imposed norms begs the question of how far self-regulation is viable when a failure in the system can have serious consequences for public health.

Advertising↗
PubMed2003

Predictors of beer advertising awareness among eighth graders.

AIMS: To identify correlates of beer advertising awareness among adolescents at an age when most initiate use of alcohol. DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of an in-school survey about alcohol advertising. Structural equation modeling was used to test for independent predictors of a latent beer advertising awareness construct, separately among boys and girls. SETTING: Twenty middle schools in South Dakota, USA participated during their spring semester. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1530 eighth graders. MEASUREMENTS: A latent advertisement awareness variable was derived based on recognition of six masked beer advertisements, knowledge of beer brands and knowledge of beer slogans. Tested predictors included measures of exposure to alcohol advertising in various venues, social norms regarding drinking, drinking beliefs and behavior and gender. FINDINGS: Adolescents with greater exposure to advertisements in magazines, at sporting and music events and on television were more advertisement aware than those with less exposure, as were teens who watch more TV, pay attention to beer advertisements and know adults who drink. Beer advertisement awareness was dramatically higher among boys, and was associated with drinking only among boys. CONCLUSIONS: Each of a variety of advertising venues appears to influence independently the extent to which beer advertising is incorporated into an adolescent's cognitive world. Boys are more likely to be aware of and remember beer marketing, and may be more likely to drink as a result of this awareness than girls.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Adolescents' responses to cigarette advertisements: links between exposure, liking, and the appeal of smoking.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate adolescents' responses to cigarette advertisements for different brands. DESIGN: Adolescents were shown one print advertisement for each of five cigarette brands (Camel, Marlboro, Kool, Benson & Hedges, and Lucky Strike). They indicated on a structured questionnaire how many times they had seen the advertisement (or one almost like it), how much they liked it, whether or not they thought it made smoking more appealing, and whether or not it made them want to smoke cigarettes of that brand. SETTING: Middle school and high school classrooms, seven schools in four states in the United States (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas). The classrooms were selected randomly within each school. PARTICIPANTS: 534 adolescents in grades 6-12 (ages 11-18 years) from seven schools in four states, 54% female, 76% white. RESULTS: The advertisements for Camel and Marlboro were more likely than the advertisements for the other brands to be seen, to be liked, to be viewed as making smoking appealing, and to influence adolescents to want to smoke cigarettes of that brand. More than 95% of the adolescents had seen an advertisement featuring Joe Camel or the Marlboro Man at least once, and more than 50% had seen these advertisements six or more times. Nearly half believed that the Joe Camel advertisement makes smoking more appealing, and 40% believed that the Marlboro Man advertisement makes smoking more appealing. Adolescent smokers were more likely than nonsmokers to believe that the advertisements for Camel and Marlboro make smoking more appealing. CONCLUSIONS: The advertisements most popular among adolescents are for two of the brands they are most likely to smoke--Marlboro and Camel. The results of the study are consistent with the view that certain cigarette advertisements enhance the appeal of smoking to many adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

A comparison of memory for and attitudes about alcohol, cigarette, and other product advertisements in college students.

The purpose of this study was to compare the attitude ratings and recall scores of cigarette, alcohol, automobile, deodorant, jeans, soft drink, athletic shoe, breakfast cereal, and fast food restaurant advertisements. Male and female college students rated the advertisements of these product groups on a number of traits--adventurous, eye-catching, appealing, informative, believable, good times, recreational, effectiveness, romantic, athletic, buy product, and honesty. Drawing on their everyday experience, the students also were asked to recall as much about the advertisements from these product groups as they could. The results revealed that the rating and recall scores of the alcohol advertisements were significantly higher than those for the cigarette advertisements and among the highest of all of the advertisement groups. The female recall scores generally were significantly higher than the male recall scores. In contrast to the cigarette advertisements, the high scores of the alcohol advertisements were interpreted to be due in part to the wider distribution alcohol advertising has had. That alcohol advertising ranked among the highest of all of the advertising groups indicates that college students view alcohol advertising very favorably.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Portrayal of female physicians in cardiovascular advertisements.

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing numbers of female medical school graduates, few women enter cardiovascular specialties. Pharmaceutical promotion may influence physician behaviour. It is unclear how female physicians are represented in cardiovascular advertisements, which may, in turn, influence physician perceptions. OBJECTIVES: To determine if female and male physicians are equally represented in cardiovascular advertisements. METHODS: All cardiovascular advertisements from American editions of general medical and cardiovascular journals published between January 1, 1996, and June 30, 1998, were examined. For each unique advertisement, the total number of journal appearances and the number of appearances in journals' premium positions were recorded. The role, sex, age and race of the primary figure featured in the advertisement were noted. RESULTS: Nine hundred nineteen unique advertisements were identified, 35 of which depicted a physician as the primary figure. Six (17%, 95% CI 8.1% to 32.7%) of these advertisements portrayed a female physician, while 29 (83%, 95% CI 67.3% to 91.9%) depicted a male physician (P<0.001). Female physician advertisements appeared in journals 39 times (20.7%; 95% CI 2.8% to 43.5%), while male physician advertisements appeared 149 times (79.3%; 95% CI 56.5% to 97.2%) (P=0.01). The odds ratio for a female physician advertisement appearing in a premium position compared with a male physician advertisement was 0.25 (95% CI 0.09 to 0.68). CONCLUSION: The relative paucity of female physicians in cardiovascular advertisements is a concern because it may both reflect and reinforce sex asymmetries in cardiovascular specialties.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Tobacco advertising in South Africa with specific reference to magazines.

RATIONALE: A ban on tobacco advertising forms an integral component of tobacco control strategies, and needs to be considered in South Africa as a matter of urgency. OBJECTIVES: To obtain baseline data on tobacco advertising expenditure in the South African media, and to compare brands used to target different groups in magazines. METHODS: Advertising expenditure (totals and tobacco-related) for 1991 and 1993 was obtained from Adindex. Ten magazines, each with circulations of over 100,000, directed at four different target groups, were selected. For 3 months in 1993, total and tobacco advertising expenditure, brand placement and magazine demographics were determined. RESULTS: Tobacco-related expenditure constituted 4.8% of the R3 billion spent on advertising in 1993. Print (including magazines) and radio together accounted for 72% of all tobacco advertising, while cinema and outdoor advertising were most dependent on the tobacco industry for revenue. Annualised advertising spending for the 10 magazines reached an estimated R230 million, of which tobacco 'adspend' accounted for 6.4%. The highest percentage of tobacco adspend (20.3%) was for a men's 'soft-porn' magazine. For 26 of 30 issues studied, tobacco adverts were on the back cover. Brand targeting was evident in black, women's, and family magazines. There was not a single feature article on the adverse effects of smoking on health in any of the magazines during the 3-month period. Only 2 magazines had single sentences in their health columns mentioning that smoking was bad for health. In a third magazine, one opinion piece devoted a full page to criticising the anti-tobacco lobby! CONCLUSION: Tobacco advertising, through radio and outdoor advertising, reaches children and illiterate communities in peri-urban and rural areas. Tobacco advertising in magazines targets specific consumers, such as blacks and women. For most magazines, tobacco adspend constitutes less than 10% of the total. A total ban on tobacco advertising in the media in general and certainly in magazines would not have adverse economic effects and would promote health.

Advertising↗
PubMed2002

Limitations of direct-to-consumer advertising for clinical genetic testing.

Although direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements for pharmaceuticals have been appearing in the mass media for 20 years, DTC advertisements for genetic testing have only recently appeared. Advertisements for genetic testing can provide both consumers and physicians with information about test availability in an expanding market. However, 3 factors limit the value and appropriateness of advertisements: complex information, a complicated social context surrounding genetics, and a lack of consensus about the clinical utility of some tests. Consideration of several advertisements suggests that they overstate the value of genetic testing for consumers' clinical care. Furthermore, advertisements may provide misinformation about genetics, exaggerate consumers' risks, endorse a deterministic relationship between genes and disease, and reinforce associations between diseases and ethnic groups. Advertising motivated by factors other than evidence of the clinical value of genetic tests can manipulate consumers' behavior by exploiting their fears and worries. At this time, DTC advertisements are inappropriate, given the public's limited sophistication regarding genetics and the lack of comprehensive premarket review of tests or oversight of advertisement content. Existing Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration regulations for other types of health-related advertising should be applied to advertisements for genetic tests.

Advertising↗
PubMed1995

Health-related messages in consumer magazine advertising.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the patterns of health-related messages in consumer advertising from U.S. magazines. DESIGN: Observational survey of advertisements occupying a third of a page or more from the January 1994 issues of the 11 most popular consumer magazines. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Health messages were present in 22.8% (85/372) of all the advertisements reviewed. Of the advertisement categories (prescription medication, over-the-counter medication, exercise-related product, health service, health device, diet/health-related food, and other), over-the-counter medications were the most common among the advertisements that had health messages (32.9%, 28/85) (7.5% of the total advertisements, 28/372). The five advertisements for prescription medications were duplications of two different advertisements, one for a hair promotion product and one for hormone replacement therapy. Products related to diet and exercise together represented 29.4% (25/85) of all advertisements with health messages. Three advertisements (3.5%) were for health devices, and five (5.9%) were for health services. CONCLUSIONS: Health-related messages are frequent in consumer advertising. The effects of health marketing on consumer protection, health care costs, and the physician-patient relationship are discussed.

Advertising↗
PubMed2005

Television advertisement format and the provision of risk information about prescription drug products.

BACKGROUND: Considerable attention has been afforded to analyzing the content of and assessing consumers' reaction to print direct-to-consumer drug ads, but not so for televised ads. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether advertisements with different risk severity and risk presentation would significantly affect viewers' (1) recall of information contained in the advertisement, (2) evaluation of the advertisement, and (3) perceptions of the advertised product's risks. METHODS: Data were collected from a sample of 135 first-year pharmacy students at a Midwestern college of pharmacy. After viewing 1 of the 6 advertisements designed for this study, participants were asked to complete a self-administered survey. Chi-square and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. A 2x3 between subjects design was used to test the effects of 2 levels of risk severity (high- vs low-risk severity) and 3 levels of risk presentation (original ad containing integrated risk message, deintegrated risk message/dual modality using male voice-over, deintegrated risk message/dual modality using female voice-over). RESULTS: Results of analysis of variance procedures revealed that deintegrating risk information by placing it at the end of the advertisement and the use of captions in addition to oral messages (dual modality) (1) improved the recall of general and specific side effect information, (2) led to a perception that the advertisement had greater informational content, (3) resulted in lower Advertisement Distraction, and (4) lessened cognitive and affective aspects of information overload for the advertisement containing the high-risk severity medication. However, this pattern of findings was not found for the low-risk severity medication. CONCLUSION: Alternative methods for presenting risk information in direct-to-consumer ads affected some aspects of information recall and advertisement evaluation, but were not shown to affect risk perceptions regarding the advertised products.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Taking ad-Vantage of lax advertising regulation in the USA and Canada: reassuring and distracting health-concerned smokers.

We explored the evolution from cigarette product attributes to psychosocial needs in advertising campaigns for low-tar cigarettes. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents and print advertising images indicated that low-tar brands targeted smokers who were concerned about their health with advertising images intended to distract them from the health hazards of smoking. Advertising first emphasized product characteristics (filtration, low tar) that implied health benefits. Over time, advertising emphasis shifted to salient psychosocial needs of the target markets. A case study of Vantage cigarettes in the USA and Canada showed that advertising presented images of intelligent, upward-striving people who had achieved personal success and intentionally excluded the act of smoking from the imagery, while minimal product information was provided. This illustrates one strategy to appeal to concerned smokers by not describing the product itself (which may remind smokers of the problems associated with smoking), but instead using evocative imagery to distract smokers from these problems. Current advertising for potential reduced-exposure products (PREPs) emphasizes product characteristics, but these products have not delivered on the promise of a healthier alternative cigarette. Our results suggest that the tobacco control community should be on the alert for a shift in advertising focus for PREPs to the image of the user rather than the cigarette. Global Framework Convention on Tobacco Control-style advertising bans that prohibit all user imagery in tobacco advertising could preempt a psychosocial needs-based advertising strategy for PREPs and maintain public attention on the health hazards of smoking.

Advertising↗