“Medicine” has been marketed since the 18th century, first in newspapers and with handbills, primarily by practices that provided services to rural areas or offered less traditional treatments. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries when both patent medicines and the advertising industry came into their own, marketing medical services and products became common. People printed business cards, flyers, and calendars to get the word out about their practice or product.
Unfortunately, medical marketing has always been rife with false promises. In the early 20th century, companies selling unproven formulas such as Veracolate—which claimed to cure digestive orders of any kind—took advantage of desperate people as advertising was widely unregulated. There have always been dishonest people but knowingly lying about what medical services or products can deliver is dangerous and indefensible.
Sponsors, Spokespeople, and Celebrities
During the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, with a radio or television, or both, in every home, health professionals began to sponsor radio shows and appear on television programs, espousing their approaches to health and promoting their healthcare. Products like Geritol (though several of the product’s claims were challenged) ran memorable ads on the still-new medium of television in the early 50s. In 1951, fitness guru Jack LaLanne was broadcast into people’s living rooms, promoting his brand of diet and exercise. LaLanne was a vegetarian, a novelty in mid-century America. He sincerely believed in what he offered his viewers.
Over-the-Counter Drugs Ads
In the 1960s, advertisers discovered the power of humor in the still relatively new medium of television. And finding a way to laugh at what ails us has always worked—so long as there is an antidote. The ads for Alka-Seltzer that ran for a decade, beginning in the early 60s, still get a belly laugh (no pun intended).
But it was in the 70s and 80s when countries worldwide nixed many restrictions on medical marketing that advertisements for medical services and products increased globally. Here, the Federal Trade Commission opened the gates and we saw tremendous growth in medical marketing in general and the first pharmaceutical ads.
The first television commercial for Rufen, today a little-known NSAID, appeared. Thankfully, almost as quickly as Boots Pharmaceuticals aired the ad, the FDA imposed new restrictions, requiring pharmaceutical companies to list all the possible side effects of any drug. In 1973, Geritol’s famous “iron-poor blood” ads were curtailed by a new ruling by the FTC. For the makers of Geritol, this meant they could claim the product treated tiredness only in the case of iron deficiency anemia.
Pushing Prescription Drugs
In 1997, the FDA again relaxed their rules around direct-to-consumer marketing and the drug companies flooded television, radio, and the quickly evolving internet with ads for a wide range of pharmaceuticals. Many view this as an unfortunate decision, including the American Medical Association. Today, the AMA, with its 250,000-plus members still believes that the plethora of ads leads patients to ask their physicians for potentially harmful pharmaceuticals, such as oxycodone, an opiate infamously marketed by Purdue Pharma as OxyContin and said to offer non-addictive but powerful pain relief.
Currently, only the United States and New Zealand allow direct-to-consumer marketing of drugs on television. The socio-political ramifications of this advertising are more than meets the eye. Revenue from pharmaceutical advertising makes up about 20% of all the advertising on news programs, somewhat biasing news reports and thereby shaping people’s opinions about more than what medicines to take.
In the early 2000s, the internet transformed medical marketing. Digital healthcare marketing in 2022 was 9.3 billion dollars and is expected to increase by nearly 10 percent by 2030. The online presence of health and wellness marketing via spokespeople and by hospitals and clinics continues to increase health and wellness consumerism. The good news is that many—entrepreneurs and practitioners alike—have established independent, ethical guidelines.
A Twofold Opportunity
Follow one or two health and wellness accounts online and instantly five or six more appear in your feed. Social media’s interactivity is what makes it such a formidable venue. Of course, people many false claims here, too. However, social media influencers have the power to raise the industry’s standards while setting themselves apart. They do this by:
1 Sharing updates on new treatments or research, general lifestyle suggestions, and advice on managing specific conditions.
2 Addressing misconceptions and misinformation by providing research-based information.
3 Personalizing health advice by offering introductory telemedicine consultations at no cost.
4 Modeling healthy living as they share their personal health journeys and offer information and motivation.
5 Endorsing health and wellness products and services they’ve tried themselves.
Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, WhatsApp, and all the platforms offer those in the health and wellness space a lively place to reach new customers and patients. And while you do raise the bar. Establish and adhere to ethical standards, stay up to date on new research, follow others in your field, and communicate transparently. As vital as it is for people to advocate for themselves within the healthcare system, they also must discriminate about what products to purchase and whose advice to follow, which isn’t easy. Contribute well-supported advice in an inviting voice and visual style and everyone using social media benefits.
07.2024
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