became the trend setters, as marketers from Merrell Dow, Upjohn, Pfizer, and Glaxo all geared up consumer outreach initiatives with various types of "help seeking" or disease awareness advertisements. Beginning in 1985, the Lakeside division of Merrell Dow developed disease awareness campaigns in two therapeutic areas where they had brands appropriate for consumer demand, Seldane and Nicorette. Their simple and to-the-point ads directed target consumers to see their physicians about new treatment options available for seasonal allergy symptoms and smoking cessation. Physicians generally welcomed these campaigns, but for different reasons. There weren't very many effective prescription drugs for seasonal allergic rhinitis, and Seldane was the first non-sedating antihistamine, so it was a welcome addition to their portfolio. The ads also used a "physician as hero" tone, with the nurse happily saying "the doctor will see you now," a line that became synonymous with the campaign. Sales took off and rode a wave of consumer-driven demand for several years through many campaign iterations. With regard to Nicorette, tobacco use had become increasingly recognized as a health risk by this time, yet physicians had few treatment methods to prescribe. Now patients had a reason to ask about help with quitting, and the doctor could help. During this era, Pfizer ran an ongoing "Partners in Healthcare" series of disease awareness ads; the "Glaxo Institute for Digestive Health" sponsored messages about heartburn with a symptom quiz, and Upjohn was preparing for the biggest prescription drug campaign ever, offering the promise of hair growth for millions of men with alopecia. The advertising of the mid-to-late 1980s was generally seen by critics as innocuous and by physicians
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDMwNDAx