Three Pharmaceutical Advertising

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Considering the fact that the pharmaceutical advertising industry invests billions of dollars every year, it is no surprise that we see common threads in the commercials they run. Marketing professionals know what to exploit and when to have the most successful reaction out of their consumers. There are several ways to go about this, but the one that I would like to focus on today is the illusion that a medication will totally transform all aspects of your life. It will not only cure/help manage your ailment, but it will improve your physical, emotional, and social self as well. I will be referencing advertisements for three medications in this essay: Advair, Spiriva, and Flomax. There was one phrase that was common throughout all three of …show more content…

We are met with an old man with “COPD and chronic bronchitis” who explains that now that he is “breathing better with Advair” he is able to do things that he couldn’t before. He is now able to blow bubbles with his granddaughter and cheer on his grandson at his football game. At the end of the commercial his grandson thanks him for coming and he responds with “wouldn’t have missed it” this symbolizes that now that he is on his medication he will never miss another game, and therefore his social relationships and quality of life in general is …show more content…

Starting out with the revolutionary hooking line of “Here’s to men!” Flomax is very clearly laying out it’s audience from the get go. The equation is present again, when you are able to *stop spending so much time in the men’s room* with *Flomax* you are able to do guy things with the guys! The man affected by the enlarged prostate is shown socializing, laughing, and bike riding with his friends after taking Flomax. Then we are shown him cuddling up with his wife, peacefully asleep. One of the strategies of this ad is to make the audience imagine the horrors of this man’s life before taking Flomax. By not showing how he was before he started to take the medication, the audience is able to assume and potentially put themselves in his place, instead of having the image created for them. Additionally, by leaving out the befores, the advertisement is able to be focused completely on the positive life aspects (while the sound of the side effects and warnings drown on like a lullaby paired with the gentle music in the background). Not only is he able to improve his relationship with his friends, but his woman as well, which according to this advertisement is all one-dimensional, old men with enlarged prostates

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