“Ask your doctor”. Argumentation in advertising of prescription medicaments
Studies in Communication Sciences. Special issue on Health literacy, 5 (2), 75-98.
Autore: Sara Rubinelli
Tipo di pubblicazione: Articolo


There seems to be an ongoing global debate over the potential benefits and risks of allowing direct- to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical products. Such advertising is legal in the United States and New Zealand but remains illegal for example in all the countries of the Western world. It has been argued that the risks derive both from potential misinformation of consumers and inappropriate demands for prescription of these drugs. After reviewing this debate, this paper presents an exploratory study of the argumentation strategies used in US direct-to-consumer print advertising. The aim of the analysis is to understand better what the advertisement seeks to communicate beyond basic product information. In particular I am interested in the possibility that the advertising messages invite consumers to make inaccurate or inappropriate inferences and generalisations, thus affecting their health literacy.