Lunesta Advertisement: Direct-To-Consumer Advertising

Imagine a fatigued and restless man appears on your television screen, tossing and turning in bed. He is clearly having difficulty falling asleep. You hear the narrator calmly say if “your restless mind keeps chasing sleep away…introducing Lunesta, a sleep aid that can give you and your restless mind the sleep you need” (Lunesta commercial, 2013). A peaceful green moth flies over to the sleepless man and gently lands in his hand, and he quickly falls asleep. After this the narrator talks about the possible side effects of using Lunesta and the last thing the narrator says is “ready to catch a great night’s sleep, just climb into bed, and leave the rest to Lunesta” (Ibid). This Lunesta advertisement is a direct-to-consumer advertising and

In the United States, $4 billion is spent a year on pharmaceutical aids and studies show that with the increasingly amount of drug advertisements, there has been a significant rise in people asking their doctors for drugs they have heard about on the television (Aubrey, 2007). In 2012, the United States spent a total of $2360.4 billion on health care costs of which 11% or $263.3 billion were prescription drugs (“Health care costs chart”, 2014). Over the past century, medical markets have significantly increased because of direct-to-consumer advertising. Pharmaceutical advertisements have a psychological effect on consumers by using persuasive techniques in their ad campaigns. When consumers watch drug commercials on the television and they hear the symptoms described, they are able to identify with the disorder or illness the commercial is talking about. When people are able to identify that something is “wrong” with them, it gives them peace of mind and ease because they are able to normalize a problem. When people are able to diagnose a problem with the symptoms that are described in the ad campaigns, they are likely to consult their doctor. Many people self-diagnose their problems and present the solution they think will work to their doctor. It has become almost normal that individuals are doing the doctor’s job

Supporters of direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads argue that these ads inform viewers about diseases and possible treatments options, encourage people to seek out medical advice and to help remove stigma that is associated with medical conditions. On the other hand, opponents argue that direct-to-consumer drug ads misinform viewers, medicalize normal conditions and bodily functions, and these ads have led to society’s overuse of prescription drugs (“Prescription drug ads”, 2014). Beginning in 1962, these direct-to-consumer advertisements are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration to ensure that the ads are not false or