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

is one of the many advertisements consumers will see on a daily basis. Consumers are being persuaded daily through direct-to-consumer advertising because these advertisements tell the consumer to consume this medication and their medical problems will be solved. Also, direct-to-consumer advertising increases pharmaceutical company’s revenue by making medication to fix consumer’s medical issues. In this paper, I argue that pharmaceutical companies are responsible for the medicalization of insomnia because they benefit the most from this shift. I am going to be focusing on the ad campaigns for Lunesta, which is a drug for insomnia and the three main strategies that are used in these ad campaigns to convince consumers to buy and consume their drug.
Lack of sleep or sleeplessness has become medicalized as insomnia. Insomnia is defined as the “perception of inadequate or nonrestorative sleep often related to difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, or frequent awakenings” (Brielmaier, 2006). In class, we have defined medicalization as the process in which a condition or behavior becomes defined as a medical problem requiring a medical solution. Insomnia can be classified as either transient or chronic depending on the span of the patient’s symptoms. Transient insomnia lasts only a few days and is often a result of acute stress, acute medical illness, jet lag, or self-medication (Ibid). Chronic insomnia is insomnia that lasts longer than 3 weeks and is usually resulted from chronic anxiety, depression, alcohol or substance abuse, medication use, or age-related changes in sleep (Ibid).
In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new, nonnarcotic drug for insomnia, Lunesta. The company decided to start a “$60 million print and broadcast direct-to-consumer advertising campaign” (Ault, 2005) and moved toward a consumer population in which almost 60% of adults suffer from insomnia several nights a week or more (Ibid). In the United States, direct-to-consumer advertisements have made consumers reliant on taking a drug to solve their problems. As of May 2011, the average number of prescriptions for new drugs with direct-to-consumer advertising is nine times greater than prescription for new drugs without direct-to-consumer ads (“Prescription drug ads”,2014). It is important to note that medical companies have the means to produce effective and persuasive advertisements to obtain power and influence in the industry. When consumers watch ad campaigns on the television, they seldom realize the techniques used in these advertisements to persuade them to ask their doctors about the particular drug they saw. Pharmaceutical and medical companies want to help people and cure their disorders, but they are also desperately seeking revenue at the same time. This is why I believe that pharmaceutical companies have medicalized illness.
Direct-to-consumer advertising has persuaded consumers that taking medication is a causal affair, something that will immediately fix their problem.

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

because of the increased amount of direct-to-consumer advertisements. This shift in consumers taking the initiative in what drugs they want to consume and what they believe will help them is a result of pharmaceutical companies medicalizing illness. Pharmaceutical companies have everything to gain from using direct-to-consumer advertisements because these ads are persuading consumers to try the newest drug they hear about.
The benefits and risks of direct-to-consumer advertisements have been analyzed to figure out the true intentions and motivations behind these advertisements.

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

misleading.
The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries in where direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs is legal (“Prescription drug ads”, 2014). It is shocking that for “every $1.00 spent advertising prescription drugs is estimated to increase their retail sales by $4.20” (Ibid). Pharmaceutical companies then have a strong desire to continue using direct-to-consumer advertisements because these ad campaigns bring in serious amount of revenue. In 2012, the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion and the Food and Drug Administration released a study that concluded that direct-to-consumer advertisements have been improved to have more quantitative information, visual aids like charts and tables. The Office of Prescription Drug Promotion is the Food and Drug Administration office that “protects the public health by assuring prescription drug information is truthful, balanced, and accurately communicated” (“The Office of Prescription Drug Promotion”, 2014). This shows that direct-to-consumer advertisements are being regulated. But on February 12, 2014 the Food and Drug Administration issued a comment request for the public to consider having fewer risks mentioned in direct-to-consumer broadcast ads because there is concern that long disclosure of risks are “often too long, which many result in reduced consumer comprehension, minimization of important risk information and, potentially, therapeutic noncompliance due to fear of side effects” (Kux, 2014). If consumers aren’t being told what the major risks of using a pharmaceutical drug are during an advertisement, then consumers aren’t given able to weigh the risks against the benefits of consuming that drug. Without all the information about a drug, consumers cannot make the best decision for their health.
Pharmaceutical companies have re-defined natural sleep patterns through direct-to-consumer advertising and by medicalizing insomnia. We all have heard the saying that to stay healthy you need to get 8 hours of sleep. But realistically, the average American gets 6.7 hours of sleep a night (Moore, 2002). Sleeplessness has been medicalized as insomnia which “may be a public health concern, but potential overtreatment with marginally effective, expensive medications with nontrivial side effects raises definite population health concerns” (“Health in the United States”, 2014). Society has made experiencing irregular sleep habits or experiencing a night of sleeplessness inappropriate. So consumer’s perception and idea of normal sleep has been altered and influenced through the use of medicalization and direct-to-consumer advertising based on the Lunesta ad campaigns. One of the messages in a Lunesta ad campaign is that “Lunesta helps most people sleep all through the night” (Lunesta commercial, 2013). Over the past couple of years, prescriptions for sleep medications have dramatically increased. From 1993 to 2007, insomnia diagnoses increased from 840,000 to 6.1 million diagnoses (“Health in the United States”, 2014). This significant increase in insomnia diagnoses is the result of insomnia being perceived as a medical issue that requires medication to solve this issue. Once consumers were given a tangible solution like Lunesta that has been shown to help people sleep throughout the night, then people who had difficulty sleeping were convinced that Lunesta is what they need. They were convinced that Lunesta will fix their sleeping problems. This is how much power and influence pharmaceutical companies have over society.
On the daily basis, people are bombarded with advertisements whether on the television, in newspapers, in magazines, or on radio stations. The messages conveyed in these advertisements are strategically explained in such a generalized way so people are able to identify with the illness. One of the strategies of using direct-to-consumer advertisements is to make these ad campaigns personal for the viewer. For example, in another Lunesta commercial, it starts off with a man and a women gracefully sleeping in bed and the narrator says “this great night’s sleep brought to you by Lunesta” (Lunesta commercial, 2006). Then it shows just a man sleeping in bed and the narrator says the same tag line, then shows just a women sleeping and the narrator says the same tag line. With this technique of showing both genders struggling to fall asleep then easing into sleep with Lunesta, consumers can picture themselves in the same scenario, having difficulty falling asleep, and will be persuaded to ask their doctor to prescribe them Lunesta. The narrator’s voice is kind and soothing which makes viewers believe what the narrator is saying. In the commercial, the narrator says “millions of Americans, who once had trouble turning off their restless minds, are catching a great night’s sleep with Lunesta” (Ibid). Any viewer who has ever had trouble falling asleep because of their restless mind, will definitely consider talking to their doctor about Lunesta, so they can have a good night’s sleep. Direct-to-consumer advertisements like Lunesta have made is seem like taking a pill can solve any problem. If you add up all those pills it adds “up to a very lucrative market for the pharmaceutical industry” (“Health in the United States”, 2014).
In today’s society drowsiness and sleepiness is seen as unacceptable and can be fatal when driving or operating machinery. One of Lunesta’s messages is that is taken correctly, you can have a great night’s sleep and wake up feeling restful and ready to conquer the day. Having a human condition, like lack of sleep, a medical term gives people a feeling of recognition. A medical condition or title, like insomnia, receives acknowledgment in society rather than a random and personal aliment. Placing a label upon a condition or illness makes it more socially acceptable because it has been recognized in the medical world. Through direct-to-consumer advertisements, viewers are encountering persuasive messages in association with drugs to solve their problems. Consumers tend to place trust in companies, especially pharmaceutical companies, that appear to be credible and reliable, but they can forget about the money incentive these companies are interested in.
After watching a couple Lunesta commercials I noticed that there are three strategies used in all these ad campaigns, the personal inference and message of the commercials, the colors and set up of the commercial, and the impact of the narrator’s voice in the commercials. The personal inference of the Lunesta commercials is if he or she takes this medication then he or she will experience a peaceful and restful night’s sleep. The Lunesta website says that Lunesta is “a prescription sleep aid that has helped the majority of people with insomnia fall asleep and stay asleep, so they could wake up feeling rested” (Lunesta website, 2014). The Lunesta advertisements make the drug seem like the perfect solution to a personal issue of suffering from lack of sleep. The advertisements depict a fast and simple solution to a repeating problem. The inference of the commercial allows viewers to self-diagnose, seek out his or her doctor, and explain why this specific medication is necessary. According to the Lunesta website, it has a list of what the National Sleep Foundation have described the symptoms of insomnia are. These symptoms include: “difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night, difficulty returning to sleep, waking up too early in the morning, unrefreshing sleep, daytime sleepiness, difficulty concentrating and irritability” (Lunesta website, 2014). This list of symptoms makes is easy for consumers to self-diagnose their symptoms as having insomnia or not.
Another strategy used in the Lunesta ad campaigns are the colors and set up of the commercial. We have all been told that colors have a psychological effect on people. These psychological effects can range from relaxing to energizing to stimulating. The main colors presented in the Lunesta commercials and official website is blue and green. Green is the color of balance and harmony and is also the color of growth, renewal and rebirth. Green renews and restores depleted energy and is a color of trust, honesty and loyalty (“Color Psychology”, 2014). How fitting that the symbol for Lunesta is the glowing green moth. The moth literally symbolizes renewal and rebirth from suffering from a bad night’s sleep and waking up tired, to sleeping throughout the night peacefully and waking up refreshed. Complementary to green, the color blue is known as reliable and responsible. Blue symbolizes the need for order and direction in life. Blue is known to seek peace and tranquility and to promote both physical and mental relaxation. Blue reduces stress and creates a sense of calmness, relaxation and order (Ibid). People consume Lunesta in order to get receive a relaxing night of sleep and this is symbolized by the color blue throughout the commercials and website. The moth is a symbol for curing the consumer’s trouble sleeping by gently flying over to them and resting on their hand or shoulder. The consumer then gently falls asleep in an instant. The feeling of all the Lunesta advertisements is giving off the feeling of comfort and relaxation.
The third and last strategy is the impact of the narrator’s voice in the commercials. Throughout all the commercials, the same voice is used to show cohesiveness and recognition of what the advertisement is going to be about. The speaker’s voice is soothing, caring, and personal through the messages used. The narrator’s voice is a woman’s voice and she speaks slowly, clearly and with confidence. The narrator can be portrayed as a motherly figure because of the gentleness of her words and voice and also how she is talking about getting a good night’s sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is associated with being healthy. There is a personalized feeling throughout the Lunesta commercials by the narrator making general statements. When the narrator starts talking about the possible side effects, the tone of her voice changes and the speed of which she speaks increases. The placement of the side effects in the commercials is in the middle so the last thing the consumer hears are the benefits of using Lunesta, instead of the possible harmful side effects.
Direct-to-consumer advertising gives consumers the power to self-diagnose their illness or disorder through the advertisements they see. These advertisements list symptoms and how a specific drug can alleviate these symptoms and help cure consumers of these illnesses. Direct-to-consumer advertising impacts consumer’s lives by making these advertisements seem they can solve any medical issue if the drug being advertised is consumed. Pharmaceutical companies have medicalized illness like diagnosing lack of sleep or having a difficult staying asleep as insomnia. To help cure the medical illness of insomnia is to consume the pharmaceutical drug Lunesta. The Lunesta commercials and ad campaigns have used three strategies to convey the message that Lunesta can give the consumer a restful night’s sleep. Overall, Lunesta has become a popular insomnia drug because of pharmaceutical companies medicalizing trouble falling or staying asleep.