Advertising prescription drugs directly to the public is a marketing strategy currently being considered by several manufacturers. However, direct-to-consumer advertising is discouraged because federal regulations mandate extensive disclosure of product risks within television commercials. An experimental study of 676 subjects was performed to examine the impact of risk disclosure variations in television commercials on awareness and knowledge of both the warnings and the promotional messages. The amount, specificity, and format of risk information contained in the ads was varied while the promotional message remained constant. Results indicated a “trade-off” in risk/benefit communications. Risk disclosures that produced greater risk awareness and knowledge also reduced promotional message awareness and knowledge.
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