FDA Comes Down On Pharma Ads On Google

Maybe tiny text ads aren’t all they’re cracked up to be when it comes to the highly regulated industry of pharmaceutical manufacturers. While Google text ads are generally considered very cost effective at driving traffic to web-sites, as reported by Dow Jones, 14 of the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies recently received untitled letters from the FDA for not including fair balance and risk information in their tiny text ads on Google and other search engines. The letters cite a total of 48 brands for an array of missteps.

Ironically, when reading about the story on Reuters, which carries the headline “FDA warns on Tysabri, Plavix promotional links” the Google AdSense ad unit at the bottom of the page, was carrying a Tysbri text ad…

Let’s hope pharma does not over-react and suspend or cancel digital media in all forms. Display advertising, and rich media in particular, still provide plenty of space for fair balance and risk information. Tiny little text ads on the other hand, can obviously prove more challenging…

See all the FDA warning letters to pharma for Google Ads.