Look, Puppies! Distraction in DTC Advertising

The Federal Drug administration (FDA) requires pharmaceutical firms running direct to consumer (DTC) advertising to disclose information about the most important risks in a “Major Statement.” However, the visual information shown onscreen during the Major Statement is not currently regulated. In many DTC advertisements, the presentation of the Major Statement is accompanied by distracting visual elements that may prevent consumers from understanding important risk information. The present research examines a currently running DTC advertisement and finds preliminary evidence that these visual distractions do affect risk judgments.