yeah, even in my lifetime. Personally, I find it pretty amusing, because either they don't tell you what the drug does at all, just "ask your doctor about wonderfulonium!" with you know, pictures of happy people, or they do tell you what it does, the list off all the horrible things it can do to you.
It's funny; I moved out before Viagra came to market, and didn't watch much any commercial TV. Of course, I was bombarded, like everyone else, with spam and other online advertisements for viagra.
But yeah, the first time I saw a viagra ad on television, I was visiting my parents, and I couldn't stop laughing. I mean, this was something advertised in spam, and thus something linked in my mind to dubious 'penis enlargement' pills, girls who "saw my profile online" and 419 scams. Not the sort of thing you expect to see on broadcast television. (I'm not casting aspersions on viagra the drug... just the marketing I had been exposed to associated it, in my mind, with dramatically... less legitimate products.)
What's interesting is that there are probably whole categories of commercials that don't air any more, crowded out by pharmaceuticals (and political ads).
I think a lot of it is the shifting demographics of TV watchers; in the '90s, everyone watched TV. Now, I think it's mostly the old and the average-to-poor, so it makes sense you want to advertise medical stuff, as that's probably the most you can squeeze out of both of those groups.
But yeah; I'm looking at ridiculous meatspace advertising opportunities for my own company (which targets technically skilled customers) and TV isn't even on the radar.
Now, if Netflix could figure out how to advertise things other than movies without pissing off their customer base? that'd be pretty great. I'd buy space on the inside of the DVD envelopes where they push other movies, if I could geographically target tightly enough, and if I could afford it.
The other interesting thing, I think, is that to a non-tv watcher, viagra, is inexorably linked to poorly-done scams and obviously-fake drugs. Because of how this product was marketed to me, I associate it with illegitimate and dangerous products. It seems there is an advertising lesson in that, as well, though I'm not sure what the lesson would be.
"I think a lot of it is the shifting demographics of TV watchers"
That's true, but I believe the pharma ads started because of a change in regulatory restrictions that allowed them to advertise.
If the demographics were different, cash-rich pharma would probably still use a ton of air time, it would just be ads for different target markets. Acne medications, ADHD meds, anti-depressants, smoking cessation drugs, etc.
