Bunnie Butler
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Those declines are an abrupt reversal sleep medications from the robust spending growth of a few years ago. (c) 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. The site encourages consumers to keep an eye out for false or misleading ads and sleep medications provides a farrel to report violators. Researchers focused on ads for three drugs. By prescription sleeping medications Kiri Petrecca NEW YORK -- This could make media owners sick. TNS Media Intelligence puts the drop at 3.9% to $2.4 billion. Among factors driving the drop, he says, are fewer drug launches, fear of government insomnia medicine regulation and cuts by a few brands that had spent big. Some major brands, such as Pfizer's Lipitor, have revamped ads under government pressure. sleeping pills Sepracor's female pattern baldness genetics Lunesta, an insomnia drug known for its glowing moth icon, spent $75million on ads in the first quarter of 2008 vs. "Throughout much of the early decade, it sleeping pills was growing at strong double-digit rates as pharmaceutical marketers become more comfortable and experienced with DTC advertising," says Jon Swallen, TNS senior vice president of research. Results sho that direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads "probably aren't as effective as widely perceived," says Sandy Law, rozerem lead That bodes ill for the magazines, newspapers and radio and TV outlets for which the ads have been a prescription for profits. Second-quarter spending in magazines fell 29% to $358million, according to TNS, while radio plummeted 62% to $4million. $175million sleep meds in that quarter in 2007. Two recent reports say drugmakers cut Rx ad spending in the first six months of this year. A service of YellowBrix, Inc.. Enbrel (for rheumatoid arthritis), Nasonex (nasal allergies) and Zelnorm (irritable bowel syndrome). The reports follow a well-publicized Harvard Medical School study that found consumer ads had little effect on prescription drug sales. Magazines and radio stations have seen the most drug ad decline. And it comes as they already are dealing with large spending declines in some other major ad categories, such as automotive and telecommunications, and recession fears, thanks to the crisis on Wall Street. Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America's Rozerem sleep aid, which used offbeat ad characters such as Godfree Dino and a beaver, cut spending from $91million in the first half of 2007 to $15million in the first half this year. That if the government gets involved, they'll be worse off." Last month, the Food and Drug Administration stepped up its watch by asking consumers to help watch for false or misleading drug ads. "The pharmaceutical companies perceive the threat of government regulation on marketing to be a stronger threat now than it has been in the past," and are trying to self-regulate, Swallen says. Rival ad tracker Nielsen Monitor-Plus calculates the decline at 4.8% to $2.7 billion. It launched a "Be Smart about Prescription Drug Advertising" area online at. Pharmaceutical ad spending they count on to exceed $5 billion a year is losing its potency.
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