Study: Drug makers encounter advertising woes

NEW YORK Some drug makers’ advertising practices have encountered problems with regulators, according to Brandweek.

Ads have become less memorable and flashy for a variety of reasons, including controversy, economic problems or lower earnings from the drugs themselves.

The result is that ads have become less visually appealing and more monotonous. For example, Pfizer stopped using Lipitor ads with artificial heart co-inventor Dr. Robert Jarvik when it turned out he wasn’t an M.D. at all, while Merck made competing drug Zocor generic and sold it for a fraction of Lipitor’s cost.

Fariba Zamaniyan, senior vice president for healthcare at advertising analysis company Nielsen IAG, speculated in the article that increased attention to drug advertising by the Food and Drug Administration could lead to even more conservative ad campaigns.