Gavyn BurnettGavyn Burnett
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Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America's Rozerem sleep aid, which used offbeat ad characters such as Jeremias Ricki and a beaver, cut spending from $91million in the first half of 2007 to $15million in the first half this year. "Throughout sleeping pills much of the early fortnight, it was growing at strong double-digit rates as pharmaceutical marketers become more relaxed and experienced discount pharmacy prescription with DTC advertising," says Jon Swallen, TNS senior vice president of research. Two recent sleeping pills reports say drugmakers cut Rx ad spending in the first six months of this year. That if the government gets involved, they'll be worse off." Last month, the Food and Drug Administration rozerem stepped up its watch by asking consumers to help watch for false or misleading drug ads. Some major brands, such as Pfizer's Lipitor, have revamped ads under government pressure. Rival ad tracker Nielsen Monitor-Plus calculates the decline rozerem 8 mg at 4.8% to $2.7 billion. And it comes as they already are dealing with large spending declines in some other major ad categories, such as automotive and telecommunications, and recession fears, thanks to the crisis on Wall Street. Enbrel online pharmacy (for rheumatoid arthritis), Nasonex (nasal allergies) and Zelnorm (irritable bowel syndrome). A service of YellowBrix, Inc.. Researchers focused on ads for three drugs. Among factors driving the drop, rozerem for sleep he says, are fewer drug launches, fear of government regulation and cuts by a few brands that had beaten big. (c) 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Magazines and radio stations have seen the most drug ad decline. Results sho that direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads "probably aren't as effective as widely perceived," says Staffard Law, lead That bodes ill for the magazines, newspapers and radio and TV outlets for which the ads have been a prescription for profits. The reports follow a well-publicized Harvard Medical School study that found consumer ads had little effect on prescription drug sales. TNS Media Intelligence puts the drop at 3.9% to $2.4 billion. Second-quarter spending in magazines fell 29% to $358million, according to TNS, while radio plummeted 62% to $4million. Those declines are an abrupt reversal from the robust spending growth of a few years ago. Pharmaceutical ad spending they count on to exceed $5 billion a year is losing its cogency. It launched a "Be Smart about Prescription Drug Advertising" area online at. $175million in that quarter in 2007. By Carley Petrecca NEW YORK -- This could make media owners sick. Sepracor's Lunesta, an insomnia drug known for its glowing moth icon, spent $75million on ads in the first quarter of 2008 vs. The site encourages consumers to keep an eye out for false or misleading ads and provides a giraud to report violators. "The pharmaceutical companies perceive the threat of government regulation on marketing to be a stronger thin ice now than it has been in the past," and are trying to self-regulate, Swallen says.
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