To Boost Sales, Gilead's Hep C Awareness Ad Focuses on Baby Boomers

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) drug ads are less and less effective according to several studies including the eyeforpharma Whitepaper “The Great DTC Shake-Up: Patient perspectives on direct-to-consumer advertising.”

One reason for this is a "negative reaction to the use of what could be perceived as 'scare tactics' or shock value to garner attention in a crowded media environment."

In that report, I was quoted as saying “scare tactics might be good for awareness.” Now, however, I'm beginning to rethink that, especially when disease awareness ads are scaring a large portion of the population to get tested for a medical condition they most likely do not have.  A case in point is a new Hepatitis C disease awareness ad by Gilead Sciences focused on "Baby Boomers."

Let's look at the numbers and do some math.

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