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Evolution of Pharma Marketing Part 1: When Print Ads Ruled

Published August 24, 2022

Evolution of Pharma Marketing: When Print Ads Ruled

Before digital and commercial ads became the preferred method of communication, pharmaceutical companies were limited to advertising through word of mouth, and more prominently, print ads. These print ads went through a long period of evolution before they would become the pictures we all peruse in our doctors’ waiting rooms.

The mid-1800s

The most popular form of advertising during this period was trade cards. Traveling salesmen passed them out when they were prospecting, and because of the vivid colors and interesting illustrations used, many consumers enjoyed collecting and scrapbooking them. What’s important to note, however, is that these ads were unregulated, and many were considered “snake oil”, also known as misleading products. Some even featured now-illegal drugs, like cocaine and methamphetamine.

1906

Because of the backlash fraudulent ads received, the Pure Foods and Drug Act was passed. This allowed for the creation of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

1938

After over a hundred people died from consuming a drug they discovered in an advertisement, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Ad was passed. Now, the FDA had to approve the drug before it could be advertised and sold.

1958

Now that regulations were in place, print advertising took off, and an estimated 741,213,700 pieces of pharmaceutical ads were mailed out.

The 1960s

Pharmaceutical companies shifted their focus from targeting consumers to targeting physicians and began advertising in medical journals

The early 1980s

The FDA announced that pharma ads must feature the name of the drug, its usage, and the potential side effects, causing an ad to now span two to three pages in a magazine.

1996-1997

Over the course of two years, over 80 prescription drugs appeared in magazine ads.

2015

Pharma companies spent 1.35 billion dollars on magazine ads.

While it seems like online advertising is taking over, it’s rare to flip through a printed publication and not see spreads about new and innovative medicines. With many medical magazines and journals going digital, it’s fair to wonder if print ads are worth including in your marketing budget. However, anything that’s lasted almost three hundred years is something worth paying attention to.

Sources:

Bulik, Beth Synder. (2016, April 4). Once again, Pharma beats all other industries with $1.5B in magazine ads. Fierce Pharma. https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/once-again-pharma-beats-all-other-industries-1-5b-magazine-ads.

Colford, Paul D. (1997, October 30). Drug Ads Have Magazines Feeling Good. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-30-ls-48130-story.html.

Donohue, Julie. (2006). “A History of Drug Advertising: The Evolving Rules of Consumer and Consumer Protection.” Millbank Quarterly, 84(8), 659-699. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0009.2006.00464.x

Greene, Jeremy and Aaron Kesselheim. (2015, September 7). An Age-Old Battle: FDA Versus the Shill. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/fda-drug-promotion-social-media/404563/.

Spiegel, Alix. (2009, October 13). Selling Sickness: How Drug Ads Changed Health Care. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2009/10/13/113675737/selling-sickness-how-drug-ads-changed-health-care.

Weill Cornell Medicine. (n.d.) The History of Drug Advertising. https://library.weill.cornell.edu/about-us/snake%C2%A0oil%C2%A0-social%C2%A0media-drug-advertising-your-health/history-drug-advertising.

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