Drug Injury Advertising

Drug injury advertising, which solicits consumers for lawsuits against drug and medical device manufacturers, is a $114 million business. Yet little is known about how consumers respond to the medical information contained in those ads. This research applies insights from the field of marketing to the drug injury advertising context and further tests those insights through two experiments. Results suggest that some consumers are deceived by drug injury ads and that some types of advertising are more deceptive than others. We also find that deceptive drug injury ads have a stronger influence on consumer risk perceptions and behavioral intentions. These effects can be mitigated through educational interventions or competing advertisements promoting the drug. Additionally, we find some evidence of a “spillover effect,” where unaffected groups nevertheless perceive increased risk. We situate this research within the factual and legal background for drug injury advertising, as well as the extant scientific literature. We conclude with a discussion of the regulatory implications of the study.