fdas study on dtc prescription drug television advertisements

DTC Prescription Drug Television AdvertisementsImpact of Distraction on Consumer Understanding of Risk and Benefit Information

Krystina Smith, Research Analyst

The FDA conducted a study on the impact of distractions on the perception of risk in pharmaceutical television ads

• The current FDA regulations require that DTC television ads for prescription drugs present the most serious and frequent side effects– Current regulations require this information to be shared in the voiceover, but it does

not have to be represented visually (via text or visual images)

• There has been concern that elements of television ads may influence consumers’ understanding of risk information

• Because of that concern, the FDA conducted a study evaluating how well product risks are understood

Source: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofMedicalProductsandTobacco/CDER/UCM285377.pdf

Research methodology

• Research was published by the FDA in June 2011

• Approximately 2000 consumers over the age of 40 participated

• Participants viewed a 75-second ad for Zintria, a fictitious drug, along with other ads

• They were asked to evaluate the ads in a 20-minute online survey


Key elements of an ad were tested to determine the influence on consumers’ understanding of risk

• Research was done to investigate how consumers’ understanding of risk information may be influenced by– Superimposed text– Emotional tone of visual images– Consistency of the visual images with risk information

Example: Superimposed text during the presentation of risk information.


Superimposed text and emotional tone of visual images did not have an effect on risk comprehension

• Neither positive visual images nor superimposed text in the ad had any significant effect on consumers’ ability to understand risks

• However, positive visual images influenced viewers’ feelings toward a product– A more positive visual image results

in a more positive perception of the product

Positive visual imagery in the ad does not have an effect risk comprehension, but it does influence perception ofthe product.


However, presenting text on the screen at the same time as the voiceover had an influence on risk comprehension

• Presenting the spoken risk at the same time as text improves understanding of the product’s major and frequent side effects

• Product benefit comprehension is not affected by the addition of the simultaneous presentation of risks in text and audio


What does this means for pharmaceutical DTC television advertising?

• Having the major and most common side effects written on the screen at the same time it is being spoken helps viewers better understand product risks

• The clear presentation of risks does not clout a viewer’s ability to understand the product’s benefits

• All other visual elements of the ad do not have an effect on a viewer’s comprehension of the product’s risks
