[Infowarrior] - The Pharmaceutical Industry's Hidden Marketing Tactics

[Richard Forno]

Beyond Advertising: The Pharmaceutical Industry's Hidden Marketing Tactics
Submitted by Mary Ebeling on Thu, 02/21/2008 - 12:00.
Topics: corporations | health | marketing | pharmaceuticals | science | U.S.
government | women

DTC ad for Lipitor, featuring Dr. Jarvik

In early January, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce began
investigating celebrity endorsements in television ads for brand-name drugs.
The investigation was sparked by Pfizer's commercials for its best-selling
cholesterol drug Lipitor. These direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads feature Dr.
Robert Jarvik, a pioneer in the development of the artificial heart. Viewers
are not told that Jarvik is not a cardiologist, nor is he licensed to
practice medicine. His presentation as a trusted expert, Pfizer presumably
hopes, is enough to persuade viewers to ask their doctors for Lipitor by
name. And that would help erode the increasing competition from generic
alternatives....

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http://www.prwatch.org/node/7026