Informational and Symbolic Content of over-the-Counter Drug Advertising on Television

Tsao, James C.

doi:10.2190/4x1b-6h51-m4jx-r7w8

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…Tsao (1997) reviewed information and symbolic content in OTC advertisements aired on television and concluded that information in OTC ads was limited to the effects of the drug, not the reasons to take the drug, and that symbolic content in the ads reinforced the message that drugs were easy, quick fixes to common symptoms. No quantitative measurement of benefits or risks in the advertisements was included in the study.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Now You See It. Now You Don't: Fair Balance and Adequate Provision in Advertisements for Drugs Before and After the Switch From Prescription to Over-the-Counter

Faerber

Kreling

2012

Health Communication

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The objective of this study was to measure differences in fair balance (benefit and risk statements) and adequate provision (toll-free numbers, Internet URLs, print ad references, and medical professional references) in advertising content for drugs that have switched from prescription to over-the-counter (OTC). The Vanderbilt TV News Archive was used to select products to study, to measure the frequency and placement of ads for those products, and to view advertising content for those products. Unique advertisements (n = 108) for loratadine (Claritin), citirizine (Zyrtec), and omeprazole (Prilosec) were analyzed for the presence of adequate provision statements and for the frequency of benefit, risk, and other statements. OTC ads were shorter than prescription ads by 10.6 seconds but contained the same total number of statements. Most prescription ads (n (RX) = 31) contained toll-free numbers (97%), Internet URLs (94%), medical professional references (100%) and print ad references (68%). Few OTC ads (n (OTC) = 77) contained adequate provision statements: 4% contained toll-free numbers and 10% contained Internet URLs. Prescription ads had similar numbers of benefits (1.5) and risks (1.8) per 30 seconds of ad time, and OTC ads had more benefits (6.6) than risks (1.2) per 30 seconds of ad time. Prescription drug ads contained risk statements that listed specific side effects and explicit harms from taking the product, but OTC ads contained nonspecific risk information and statements that implied risk rather than directly identifying risk. Differences in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulation of advertising affected the balance of risk and benefit information that appeared and the specificity of risk information available.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Now You See It. Now You Don't: Fair Balance and Adequate Provision in Advertisements for Drugs Before and After the Switch From Prescription to Over-the-Counter

Faerber

Kreling

2012

Health Communication

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“…A new addition to media research is the content analysis of advertising for overthe-counter (OTC) and prescription drugs (Brownfield et al, 2004;Cline & Young, 2004;Kaphingst et al, 2004;Kirksey et al, 2004;Pinto, 2000;Tsao, 1997;also Miles, 1998, on commodified natural medicines). Given space limitations, I note only that concerns about these advertisements have not dissipated (Novelli, 1990) and reference other relevant advertising research throughout this review.…”

Section: Scope Of Popular Media Consideredmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Decade of Research on Health Content in the Media: The Focus on Health Challenges and Sociocultural Context and Attendant Informational and Ideological Problems

Kline

2006

Journal of Health Communication

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There is a burgeoning interest in the health and illness content of popular media in the domains of advertising, journalism, and entertainment. This article reviews the past 10 years of this research, describing the relationship between the health topics addressed in the research, the shifting focus of concerns about the media, and, ultimately, the variation in problems for health promotion. I suggest that research attending to topics related to bodily health challenges focused on whether popular media accurately or appropriately represented health challenges. The implication was that there is some consensus about more right or wrong, complete or incomplete ways of representing an issue; the problem was that the media are generally wrong. Alternatively, research addressing topics related to sociocultural context issues focused on how certain interests are privileged in the media. The implication was that competing groups are making claims on the system, but the problem was that popular media marginalizes certain interests. In short, popular media is not likely to facilitate understandings helpful to individuals coping with health challenges and is likely to perpetuate social and political power differentials with regard to health-related issues. I conclude by offering some possibilities for future health media content research.

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“…1,22 Four studies have investigated information or appeals in OTC drug advertising. [23][24][25][26] Although none of these studies used the same rubrics that were applied in the prescription drug ad studies, they revealed that for print advertising, OTC advertisements rarely (7% of ads) contained specific information on side effects or contraindications, but they contained high amounts of rational and persuasive content. 23,26 On television, most OTC advertisements (92%) contained only 2 informative cues, 24 and, like print advertisements, few ads (7%) contained specific side effects or contraindications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Content Analysis of Television Advertising for Drugs That Switch From Prescription to Over-the-Counter: Balancing Information and Appeals

Faerber

Kreling

2012

Drug Information J

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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.

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Informational and Symbolic Content of over-the-Counter Drug Advertising on Television

Cited by 19 publications

References 25 publications

Now You See It. Now You Don't: Fair Balance and Adequate Provision in Advertisements for Drugs Before and After the Switch From Prescription to Over-the-Counter

Now You See It. Now You Don't: Fair Balance and Adequate Provision in Advertisements for Drugs Before and After the Switch From Prescription to Over-the-Counter

A Decade of Research on Health Content in the Media: The Focus on Health Challenges and Sociocultural Context and Attendant Informational and Ideological Problems

Content Analysis of Television Advertising for Drugs That Switch From Prescription to Over-the-Counter: Balancing Information and Appeals

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