Summary
Studies of cultural and subcultural differences among consumers are important for advancing knowledge on direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA). This study investigates and compares scepticism towards DTCA between Korean and Caucasian Americans and the relationship of cultural values (collectivism vs individualism) and acculturation to DTCA scepticism. The results reveal that, while the difference in DTCA scepticism between Caucasian and Korean Americans was non-significant, Korean Americans' acculturation level influenced DTCA scepticism within this segment and collectivism was the only significant predictor of DTCA scepticism. The findings are discussed relative to previous research on DTCA scepticism, and managerial implications are offered.

Summary
Pharmaceutical marketers in the United States wrestle with an interesting dilemma: should they maintain similar advertising across their two target audiences—physicians and patients—or should they customize advertising for each? This study explores the relationship between advertising similarity and advertising effectiveness. It finds that similarity of advertising message strategy is unrelated to advertising effectiveness while advertising execution-similarity is negatively related. This pattern of effects holds even when patients are the drivers of brand choice. These findings reinforce the idea that advertising should be finely honed to target customers’ needs even when two different customers interact in brand choice.

Summary
Consumer conversations on a health-related electronic bulletin board are analyzed to investigate two key processes instrumental to creativity: analogical reasoning and reflective reframing. A netnographic analysis of these two creative strategies revealed two consistent themes of physician partnership and personal outcomes. To study the implications of these two themes for hospital communications, a content analysis of 40 comprehensive cancer-center Web sites was conducted. The results demonstrate a gap: although patients in online conversations emphasize physician partnership and personal outcomes, the majority of hospital communications emphasize reputation, expertise, and compassion. Strategic recommendations grounded in consumer conversations conclude the article.

Summary
Several prescription drug brands use animated characters in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. This article draws on the literature on spokescharacters to address four research questions: 1) What different types of animated spokescharacters are used in DTC advertising? 2) How are prescription drug marketers using spokescharacters in DTC advertising? 3) To what extent are these characters integrated into the websites for these brands? 4) Is there any evidence that the use of animated spokescharacters enhances advertising effectiveness? Animated characters are used in various ways, such as the symbol of a disease, a victim, or as the mechanism of action. Brands vary greatly in their integration of spokescharacters into DTC websites. Evidence from secondary data indicates that brands using spokescharacters perform better than average in recall and in brand-association tests.

Summary
The objective of this paper is to review the literature on pharmaceutical promotion, highlighting the areas of contention. Traditional methods used to promote pharmaceutical products were examined and the question, ‘If the objective of promotion is to inform, persuade and remind the customer about why they should consider a particular product or brand, why is the promotion of pharmaceutical products so contentious?’ was asked. The article draws upon the results of an exploratory case study that examined healthcare practitioner and pharmaceutical sales representative attitudes towards pharmaceutical promotion, and concludes with some thoughts on how information-based and persuasion-based pharmaceutical promotion can coexist.

Summary
This article reports the findings of two surveys examining U.K. physician and consumer attitudes to the introduction of direct to consumer advertising (DTCA), and its likely impact, if implemented, in the strategically important U.K. prescription drug market. The findings, in general, suggest that neither physicians nor consumers are positively disposed to the advertising of prescriptions drugs, although significant differences in attitudes toward such policies emerged between the two groups based upon “ethics and approval levels,” “ethics-related impacts,” and the “impact of unbranded disease awareness campaigns.” The findings for consumers and physicians do not at present support the extension of DTCA in the United Kingdom, but are supportive of a continuation of unbranded “disease awareness” campaigns. Guidance for practitioners within the established U.S. DTCA marketplace is also provided.

Summary
In this article, the author has explored the factors that influence the effectiveness of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs. The study was based on a telephone interview with a nationally representative sample of 3,000 adults regarding their responses to DTC advertising. The findings advanced the theoretical development of DTC advertising effectiveness models, suggested ideal research methods for future study, and offered drug marketers some practical advice.

Summary
Advertising prescription drugs to consumers is becoming increasingly common and expensive - over $3 billion in 2003 - yet the mechanism by which advertising drives requests for prescription drugs remains largely unexplored. Contextual differences suggest an empirical trial of the classic attitude-toward-the-advertisement (Aad) model to explain how advertising influences these requests might be warranted. This study tests the Aad model, as well as a modified version of the model containing variables unique to the health care context, to test its explanatory ability in this context. Results from multiple samples suggest the superiority of the modified model in understanding drug requests across a broad range of drug types. In addition to health care variables, ethnicity and age impact modeled relationships. A discussion of the health consequences of model fit for drug companies, public policy, and consumers is also presented.

Summary
Pharmaceutical advertising has generated considerable interest among both researchers and practitioners. This paper analyses overall attitude and scepticism towards both nonprescription and prescription drug advertising, and compares it to attitude and scepticism towards advertising in general, in a cross-cultural setting. The relationship between the cultural dimension of humankind’s relationship to nature and the evaluation of pharmaceutical advertising is explored. A survey of 788 respondents from the U.S. and Germany was conducted. Data revealed that while consumers have less favourable attitudes towards advertising for pharmaceutical products than towards advertising in general, consumers tend to be less sceptical of it (i.e. they believe it more, as compared to advertising in general). Regarding advertising for non-prescription vs prescription medications, consumers have less favourable attitudes towards prescription drug messages than towards non-prescription drug messages, but, contrary to expectations, no significant differences were found with regard to levels of scepticism towards the two types of drug advertising. The cultural dimension of humankind’s relationship to nature (dominance over nature) proved to be related to the evaluation of pharmaceutical advertising, though the relationship was relatively weak. A tendency to dominate nature is related to a more positive attitude and lower levels of scepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. Regarding cultural differences, U.S. consumers have a more positive attitude towards, and are less sceptical of, advertising in general, and of advertising for prescription and nonprescription drugs, in particular, than are German consumers. Implications for consumer protection policies and for advertisers are discussed. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are addressed.

Summary
Using a large-scale database, we present, test, and refine a model for direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising effectiveness via structural equation modeling. Results suggest that consumers who are greatly involved in their healthcare and possess positive attitudes toward DTC advertising appear to be more likely to contact a doctor about the prescription drug after viewing a DTC advertisement. While individuals that are poor in health and/or hold more favorable attitudes toward the healthcare system do appear to respond to DTC advertising, the effect is quite small. The results of this study provide a comprehensive overview of DTC advertising’s effect on behavior.