To be honest, I find most television (and YouTube) ads for drugs to be not very useful and, frankly, a little weird. I can't tell you how many times I've seen an ad that's full of apparently happy, healthy older people like me set against tranquil backgrounds like clouds, meadows and butterflies. Grandparents playing happily with their grandchildren, etc.
In most instances, I'll watch the ad and end up having little (or sometimes even no) idea what the drug is supposed to treat.
I'm sure there's a reason why pharmaceutical marketing people do that, otherwise they wouldn't waste their money. Are they building brand recognition? Making the name of the drug trip off people's tongues? Something else?
Whatever they're doing, they're not responsibly educating people about what drugs can and can't do – how they might or might not be effective in particular situations, and what the dangers of them are.
From a certain perspective, I think it's fair to say they're actively trying to manipulate people by focusing on emotion rather than information.
When my father was in the end stages of COPD, we needed access to critical medications to keep him breathing. We relied on his general practitioner and a couple dedicated specialists to come up with medication strategies to keep him as comfortable as possible. It seemed to me that they were quite up to date on advances in the field.
My dad and I both laughed (and not really with mirth) at pharmaceutical advertisements for COPD medication. Those ads presented a rosy picture: take this drug and play with your grandchildren like you were 30 years old again.
Of course, that's not how it works. Still, my dad did ask one of his specialists once about a new medication he'd seen on TV. "Will this work for me?"
Her answer was kind but clear and accurate. "Mr. Finn, I've spent the past three decades treating patients with your condition. I spend my days prescribing medication and reviewing their effects on real patients. I spend my evenings reading medical journals. I have you on the most aggressive drug therapy I can devise, and as your condition changes, I will keep fighting for you by trying different combinations. Please understand that the marketing people who came up with that ad you're asking me about don't know anything about medicine. I do. Please listen to me, not them."
