Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals: An Integrative Review - Innovation and Marketing in the Pharmaceutical Industry - page 618

Chapter 21
Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
of Pharmaceuticals: An Integrative Review

Qiang Liu and Sachin Gupta

Abstract This chapter provides an integrative review of direct-to-consumer
advertising (DTCA) of prescription pharmaceuticals. We introduce the history and
current trends of DTCA in the USA and in other countries. Then, we discuss research
methods and databases appropriate for DTCA studies. We review past literature on
DTCA related to different stakeholders: (1) DTCA and patients; (2) DTCA and
physicians; (3) welfare effects of DTCA and government regulation; (4) DTCA
and pharmaceutical fi rms. Our review of the literature indicates that this topic has
received attention in multiple fi elds, including marketing, health economics, medi-
cine, public policy, and law and economics. However, it remains a “hot” topic with
near daily coverage in the media, providing rich fodder for new and interesting
research questions that are important to fi rms, patients, and policy makers. Finally,
we have identifi ed a few unresolved research questions that we believe are signifi cant
and worthy of future research.

21.1 Introduction

Anyone who watches television or reads newspapers or magazines in the USA cannot
help but notice the dramatic upsurge in the repetition of phrases such as “ask your
doctor” and “tell your physician” (see Fig. 21.1 for an example). This is a direct outcome
of the explosive growth in direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). We begin this
chapter with a short history of DTCA that brings us to current expenditures on DTCA in

Q. Liu ( * )
Krannert School of Management , Purdue University , West Lafayette , IN , USA
e-mail: [e-mail]
S. Gupta
Johnson Graduate School of Management , Cornell University , Ithaca , NY , USA
e-mail: [e-mail]