Yesterday, I was on a plane from Las Vegas to Boston, a very frequent trip for those of you who follow me. I worked for the first 3 hours of the flight as usual and decided to take a mental break and read a magazine. While flipping through the magazine I came upon a full–page ad that caught my attention.

Why it caught my attention I’m not quite sure as I usually just blow by all print ads. Maybe it was the depressing picture of someone on a doorstep, the large font, the slogan, etc. But, it didn’t keep my attention long enough to even figure out what the ad was for. I just started page flipping again.

For the next 6 pages I was bombarded with white pages filled to capacity with fine print. I felt like I was scanning a new contract in which the company was trying to wear me out by having to read so much to get to the point. These pages of nothingness caught my attention more than the first ad. I quickly realized it was disclaimers and other mumbo jumbo from a pharmaceutical company. I went back a few pages to discover the disclaimers were attached to the initial ad that caught my attention.

Why do drug companies have to liter magazines with so much junk? Do people actually read through that? Perhaps it’s to meet legal guidelines but television commercials would be 20 minutes long if they had to disclose that much information. I am not saying that knowing what side affects occur in meds or instructions are not vital. But, this company bought 7 full–page ads in this magazine just in the hopes that someone will spot the ad that first grabbed my attention. No wonder drug costs these days are spiraling out of control. Can you image the cost just for this one magazine ad?

Drug companies seem to come up with a pill for every ailment and a way to shout it to the masses through television, radio and print ads. What’s next? Will we be watching a new Apple commercial and suddenly hear, “Need to know what drug to take, what pill to pop? There’s an app for that!”