For marketers, last year may be thought of as the good-old days if Congress passes a two-year moratorium on DTC ads for new drugs.

Consider that total drug spending rose 14 percent, to $4.7 billion, in 2006, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. And network TV was a major beneficiary. Spending on the telly rose 9.4 percent to $1.6 billion, while spending on cable, fell 6 percent to $621 million. Meanwhile, ad spending on magazines and newspapers rose 24.7 percent to $1.8 billion, despite predictions that print is dead. On the Internet, ad spending rose 9.5 percent, but that only amounted to $163 million.

What’s going on here? AdWeek posits that marketers are moving away from straightforward network TV spots featuring rosy images that urge viewers to “Ask your doctor” in favor of more direct-response messages.

Instead, the trend is toward existing “brand equity” ads that urge viewers to visit a web site or call a phone number. The company then measures the response from each ad to each site or number, figuring out which ads work and which don’t. These direct-response ads stay on the air as long as they can demonstrate that they are reaching customers.

“TV is doing well; it’s just being used slightly differently,” says Anne Devereaux, ceo of TBWA\Worldhealth, who also cites Pfizer’s new 2-1/2 minute Celebrex ad. Although whether that spot will prove successful is still unclear.

The spending trend suggests that one possible reaction to any DTC moratorium may be much more spending on existing brands, particularly direct response ads. But what else?

Source: AdWeek[tags]Advertising[/tags]