{"id":4031,"date":"2026-03-27T14:02:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capertongillett.com\/blog\/?p=4031"},"modified":"2026-03-27T14:02:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:02:20","slug":"the-5-worstbest-tropes-in-d2c-pharma-advertising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capertongillett.com\/blog\/the-5-worstbest-tropes-in-d2c-pharma-advertising\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Worstbest Tropes in D2C Pharma Advertising"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Prostate-specific membrane antigen-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer previously treated with hormone therapy and<\/em> chemotherapy? That could be anyone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Why is the U.S. one of the only two countries in the entire world that allow D2C prescription drug advertising? Probably because it takes a very specific balance of healthcare needs and late-stage capitalism to decide that pressuring patients into asking their doctor for expensive name-brand medication they might not even benefit from and might not be able to afford without patient assistance they might not be eligible to get is awesome as long as you do it with a musical number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(And I say this with the greatest of affection as a person who really hopes she didn\u2019t just screw herself out of any future freelance work for pharma clients, please, I swear I have no scruples and will take your money.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that said, without D2C drug ads, we wouldn\u2019t have some of the most bizarrely entertaining tropes in our industry. And I\u2019m not talking about farmer\u2019s market flash mobs and random bathtubs in a field. I\u2019m talking about the most encyclopedic list of horrendous side effective imaginable recited over perky royalty-free music while an elderly couple rides fixies through a flower meadow, and warnings to tell my doctor about side effects that would definitely<\/em> already have me on the way to the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five recurring tropes that make drug advertising so darn special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the \u201cevery warning label has a story\u201d category:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tell your doctor if you have blurred vision or a parasitic infection.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Are parasitic infections a side effect of Dupixent? No. Has parasitic infection been associated with Dupixent use? Apparently, at least with enough frequency that they felt the need to mention it, which in this case means about one tenth of one percent of patients. Should our biggest concern be that people might start experiencing abruptly blurred vision or a parasitic infection<\/em> and think, \u201cNah, this seems fine,\u201d if not advised to do so by a TV commercial? I vote yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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