Big Pharma spends about $500 million every year placing ads about their drugs in medical journals. In fact, much like Vogue magazine, up to 1/3 of the pages in your average medical journal are full page ads. If you’re trying to sell more drugs, it does make sense to advertise in these journals. Return on investment for journal drug ads is estimated to be an impressive $5 for every $1 that a drug company spends on these ads.

Because drug ads in medical journals are so darned successful in getting physicians to prescribe these drugs to their patients, some ethical doctors have taken it upon themselves to help interpret Big Pharma marketing.  For example, how about a rousing game of “Bingo Fun with Pharmaceutical Ads: What Can They Teach Us About Marketing?”  Continue reading →