Printing, pre-press, publishing and photography services – yesterday, today and tomorrow

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Creation of a Legacy
3. A Legacy Transformed
4. The Virtues of a Middle Class
5. Vested Interest
6. Trading on Conventions
7. Institutionalism Triumphs
8. Lasting Images
9. Conclusion

Conclusion

A manifestation of mass culture, drug advertising became a consensus document which institutionalized idealistic and simplistic representations of health consciousness in America. Marketing techniques regarding pharmaceutical drugs, proprietary medicines, alcohol, and tobacco have changed over time in accordance with American cultural transformations. Imbedded within American cultural factors is an English legacy of collectively-held attitudes, customs, and ideas which have informed drug use and drug advertising. Based on seventeenth century English precedent, embellished and overstated broadsides and pamphlets have remained the standard to which drug product presentation has aspired. As America changed, drug advertising and promotion reflected the evolution of historically-based values within the framework of society.

Drug advertising has indeed informed, influenced, and entertained the public throughout its history. Information has consisted of familiarizing the public with a profusion of health products within the sphere of prescription medicines, proprietary drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Influence has been related to the continuation of traditional notions of drugs and health as being inextricably entwined with the meaning of human life and the power of enduring life. Certainly drug advertising has reminded generations of the precariousness of health, and through exaggeration (rarely understated), drug advertising has entertained its public.

The same cultural heritage that provided the United States with drug advertising also ed the opportunity for the public to examine its institutions. The public needs to pay attention and maintain an awareness of the institutions it has sanctioned. After all, America's institutions embody values and ideas, and thus are subject to moral scrutiny. The question of where the power of accountability and responsibility of America's institutions should be placed is paramount.

Shirley Stallings