This spring, Johnson & Johnson began airing new ads for its birth control patch, and viewers may have noticed that the message was significantly more sobering than in past ads. In the television spot, an enthusiastic young woman wants to get started on the company's Ortho Evra patch, but her gynecologist stops her: "Let's talk," the doctor says, just before going over a list of potential side effects-blood clots and stroke among them.
This is a far cry from what American viewers have grown accustomed to in their drug advertisements. More often, ads feature actors smiling and dancing as a TV announcer reels off a list of potential side effects at an incomprehensible speed. The new, more candid direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising is in part due to tougher government regulations being discussed in the wake of market withdrawals.
The COX-2 inhibitor was launched by Merck in the United States in 1999 ...
