On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 11:07 AM Melissa P <[email protected]> wrote:
> Apologies for the spotty input -- because grad school was decades ago. > > That said, if I remember correctly, a semester class was split into two > parts, one of them, the economics of advertising. > > Around the time that I was in school, the Federal Trade Commission was > just beginning to lift bans in certain industries that had previously been > prohibited from advertising on television. I remember long discussions in > class about those industries and even wrote a term paper on one of them -- > eyeglass advertising. The others I remember are the funeral industry, > lawyers, and -- (and non-OTC) pharmaceuticals. > > The theory: more advertising = more competition = lower prices (and more > and better information) for consumers. > > By now, I'm sure there's a ton of data and conclusions about how effective > lifting the bans has been. Benefits outweigh costs? Prices? I haven't a > clue because I haven't looked at the papers/studies. One effect is most > certainly the case: advertising by the legal profession has made it > possible for an oversupply of lawyers to find employment. > > Pharmaceuticals? Lower prices? Better health? Better informed > consumers? I don't know, but the literature is undoubtedly out there. > > Just thought I'd post because it seems that a lot of people don't remember > a time when morticians, optometrists, lawyers, and drug companies didn't > advertise on TV. > I’m just old enough to remember Fred and Barney pausing from their antics in Bedrock to smoke some smooth, refreshing Kool cigarettes. > On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 10:50 AM Adam Bowie <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I know of at least two people who stayed up until 2am to watch it live on >> some kind of dodgy stream somewhere. And yes, there were a lot of comments >> on the volume of advertising the interview had. I don't know if it was more >> than the usual 19-20 mins per hour, but that is higher than we get in the >> UK where we were, until recently, regulated by the EU and still have limits >> on the number of breaks (two mid-breaks in a one hour show, one break in a >> half-hour), and the number of ads. >> >> But literally every person I talk to who's been to the US for vacation or >> business will mention the pharmaceutical ads. It's worth noting that this >> has been (at least until very recently - I believe Canada might now allow >> them) an almost uniquely American thing. In the UK and EU, you only see >> drug adverts for over the counter drugs. There's no "Ask your doctor" >> advertising. There's also much hilarity at the nature of the ads - 30 >> seconds of benefits/ 30 seconds of hideous side effects. I believe that >> this type of advertising was only also legal in New Zealand. So yes - it's >> about as strange to us as seeing cigarette advertising on TV. >> >> Of course, European health services are very different. In the UK, most >> people are treated under the NHS and you basically don't get a choice about >> drug treatment. Not every drug is even available - there are committees >> that determine which drugs the NHS will make available. (So yes, really >> expensive cancer drugs sometimes aren't available). And while some do have >> private healthcare, it probably doesn't really allow for the kind of >> drug-picking these ads are hypothesised on. Private healthcare is really to >> make sure you don't have to wait for surgeries etc. It's probably not going >> to cover you for an expensive cocktail of drugs otherwise unavailable on >> the NHS. >> >> The interview is airing in the UK tonight on ITV, although obviously it >> has already been fully gutted by all the news programmes this morning. >> Personally I'm getting more - small r- republican as the days go by. The >> Royal Family needs to radically modernise or ship out. >> >> >> Adam >> >> On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 3:16 PM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> I am not in the target demo to watch an interview of Oprah interviewing >>> “Royals” (though the headline that they allege that someone at the palace >>> was worried their kids skin would be too dark sounds about right). >>> >>> I did find this Twitter thread interesting, in which Brits who were able >>> to watch the American broadcast of the interview are obsessed with how many >>> commercials Americans are exposed to for drugs. It is a reminder that >>> healthcare does not have to be a business. Would be nice to put more >>> restrictions again on direct-to-consumer advertising in the US. >>> >>> Also, I thought Oprah had a relationship with ABC, but it looks like >>> this interview was in CBS? >>> >>> https://twitter.com/ayeshaasiddiqi/status/1368901637604007939?s=21 >>> -- >>> Sent from Gmail Mobile >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYLU_ug38DOpU4%2B55BaNC_aFODog6AcUz3fqc-BC_B9ZnQ%40mail.gmail.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYLU_ug38DOpU4%2B55BaNC_aFODog6AcUz3fqc-BC_B9ZnQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGDr4hLEEa87ma1bhK6%3Dsy5F_ZeO9G0M_oG36oJ7V8FZhw%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGDr4hLEEa87ma1bhK6%3Dsy5F_ZeO9G0M_oG36oJ7V8FZhw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CA%2B_fQPw-5ONQuS66DDs-EN3qV43zMJ%3DtXXLmwny1M63fNahpTQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CA%2B_fQPw-5ONQuS66DDs-EN3qV43zMJ%3DtXXLmwny1M63fNahpTQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Kevin M. 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