Which DTC ads drive the most web traffic?

There's always a lot of talk about just how effective DTC advertising is--or isn't. Well, Manhattan Research has released a report examining one variable in the effectiveness equation: How many people check out a product website on the prompting of a DTC ad? The report ranks the top 10 brands for the percentage of website traffic that's DTC-driven.

As Pharmalot notes, however, the report doesn't look at just how much ad spending was necessary to drive that traffic. Nor does it compare these 10 brands with the 10 biggest drug websites, or specify how large traffic to these brands' websites were overall. But despite those limitations, it's still interesting to see which DTC campaigns actually send consumers to their computers. Here they are:

• NuvaRing, Merck's contraceptive product
• Latisse, Allergan's new eyelash growth stimulator
• Cialis, Eli Lilly's ED remedy
• Boniva, Roche's osteoporosis treatment
• Abilify, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka's atypical antipsychotic
• Gardasil, Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine
• Yaz, Bayer's contraceptive pill
• Viagra, Pfizer's ED med
• Levitra, Bayer's ED drug
• Lunesta, Sepracor's sleep drug

You'll instantly remember the ad campaigns for some of these drugs, such as Merck's "One Less" drive for Gardasil; Sepracor's Lunesta moth; Roche's spokeswoman Sally Field for Boniva; and Allergan's Brooke Shields-for-Latisse commercials. Any ideas on why these ads were so succesful at driving web traffic? Let us know.

- see the release from Manhattan Research
- read the Pharmalot post
- get more from Medical Marketing & Media

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