4 ms·
Ouch. Never thought of it this way. I know it’s borderline anti-American — but when you have such compelling incentive structures at what point should we deman
by DSingularity 5y ago
Ouch. Never thought of it this way. I know it’s borderline anti-American — but when you have such compelling incentive structures at what point should we demand government regulation? If 80% of advertising is not helping consumers discover products — arguably the primary functional purpose of advertising — then isn’t this in a way an economic sickness wasting the resources and stifling innovation?
- paxys 5y agoIt's bizarre to me that the government hasn't stepped in to regulate/ban medical advertising in America. Nobody wants it – not consumers, not doctors, not even the drug manufacturers themselves.
- retzkek 5y agoThere's at least one group that likes drug ads: the advertising industry. High-dollar clients with long commercials (to fit in all their required disclaimers), and they're probably the ones with the connections to the appropriate regulators. Personally I absolutely despise drug commercials, there's not much that will make me change the channel, mute, or turn off the TV faster. Is there a more blatant display of the faults of capitalism?
- rhizome 5y agoIt's not even attributable to "capitalism," per se, because the US and New Zealand are the only places on Earth where they are legal. I may be blinkered as to global laws, so maybe I'll just say the Western Earth.
- retzkek 5y agoSure, that's fair, I suppose I was specifically thinking of US-flavored capitalism, which is undoubtedly its own beast.
- DaveExeter 5y ago>There's at least one group that likes drug ads: the advertising industry. There's another group that likes drug ads: media corporations! Part of the reason big pham spends $billions on ads is to buy the support of the media giants.
- ErikVandeWater 5y agoMedical advertising is obviously heavily regulated, save for supplements. Arguments specifically against advertising medical devices and drugs are patently absurd. Prescription drugs and medical devices are literally the only ad on TV that requires an expert with a decade of training and a fiduciary duty to you to approve it before you can purchase. Bans on things that are deadly like unhealthy foods, or things with proven negative ROI and for which debt cannot be forgiven (student loans for liberal arts degrees) don't even enter the conversation.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]