US drug DTC cuts in 1st-half 2008: TV ad effectiveness low, regulatory risk high?

US spending on direct-to-consumer advertising of medicines has fallen in the first six months of 2008, with large cutbacks in some areas, according to data published by TNS Media Intelligence and Nielsen Monitor-Plus, two media analyst firms. Due to different methodology utilized to assess the advertising market and trends, estimates vary between a 3.9% drop to $2.4 billion or 4.8% to $2.7 billion.

More FDA monitoring of DTC

The results are perhaps not surprising, given that the Food and Drug Administration, in partnership with a non-profit group, EthicAd, recently launched a web site to make it easier for people to obtain information on how to spot and report inappropriate marketing in television advertisements (Marketletter September 15). The FDA is also in the process of upgrading its capacity to monitor print and television DTC campaigns by drugmakers which, with a new US President due to take office next year, could lead to the agency wanting to appear more active. The pharmaceutical sector may be adopting a "self censorship" approach, including a reduction in high-visibility DTC on television. However, one expert on media campaigns for drugmakers, Bob Erlich, chief executive of the specialist marketing firm DTC Perspectives, recently argued that print advertising and the Internet should benefit from a switch away from television and radio.