Pharma spending more on consumer ads, despite ad guidelines

Pharma spending more on consumer ads, despite ad guidelines

Instead of scaling back on consumer advertising after the new PhRMA DTC guidelines went into effect January 1, pharmas instead spent more, channeling their dollars into unbranded, disease awareness campaigns, reports Brandweek. According to data from Nielsen Monitor-Plus, pharmas spent $680 million on drug advertising during the first two months of 2006, compared to $613 million during the same period in 2005, an 11% increase. Of that, $108 million was spent on unbranded campaigns, such as the Men's Facts campaign for Levitra and the Just Ask Today campaign for Viagra. Budgets once dedicated to reminder ads, which the new DTC guidelines eliminate, are now redirected to other forms of consumer advertising, Peter Pitts, senior vice president for global health affairs at Manning, Selvage & Lee, told Brandweek.