FDA to Investigate Effect of Using Cartoon Characters to Peddle Drugs

A big toe wearing a purple helmet and boxing gloves does battle with a toenail fungus in a commercial for a topical antifungal medication. A pink, twisted set of intestines cheering at a football game and then racing to the restroom touts a new drug for irritable bowel syndrome. And a wolf huffing and puffing in an unsuccessful attempt to blow down a house is the highlight of an ad for a COPD treatment. These are just a few of the many animated characters appearing in recent TV ads for prescription drugs. Just why does the industry do this? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspects it knows the answer.

The pharmaceutical companies spend tens of millions of dollars to produce and run these ads, with one goal in mind: to increase shareholder profits by prompting people to ask their doctors for prescriptions for these products. These companies undoubtedly have data from consumer research indicating that the use of animated characters is a very effective marketing technique.

The FDA has grown concerned that animation may distort viewers’ perceptions of benefit and risk information. Therefore, on March 2, the agency announced plans to conduct its own research, which will examine how animation affects viewers’ comprehension of information presented in television ads for prescription drugs.[1]

In its announcement, the FDA noted that “animated characters are often used to grab attention, increase ad memorability, and enhance persuasion to ultimately drive behavior.” Of particular concern to the agency is the possibility that these characters reduce perceived risk “by minimizing or camouflaging side effects.” The agency also worries that animation in drug ads may inflate perceptions about benefits.

To better understand these issues, the FDA will conduct experiments testing ads for fictional drugs for treating two medical conditions: chronic dry eye and psoriasis. The fictional drugs will mimic currently available medications for these conditions. The agency will hire a professional firm to create ads that are similar to currently running ads. FDA researchers then will assess how different types of animation influence consumers’ recall and perceptions of risk and benefit information, as well as their emotional responses to the ad, brand, product and animated character.

Obviously, ads that mislead consumers into overestimating the benefits and underestimating the risks of prescription drugs are bad for patients and public health. Independent research to learn whether and how animated characters contribute to such consumer misperceptions is critically important. But pharmaceutical companies and their marketing partners likely already have extensive data on these issues from their own consumer research. The FDA should demand that the companies immediately provide these data to the agency.

References

[1] Food and Drug Administration. Agency information collection activities; proposed collection; comment request; animation in direct-to-consumer advertising. March 2, 2016. 81 FR 10867. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-03-02/pdf/2016-04569.pdf. Accessed March 18, 2016.