Look - Puppies! How Ads Distract from Side Effects

Most people would agree that television commercials are an irritant at worst and a beverage break at best.

For University of Montana marketing researcher Jesse King, commercials – namely, pharmaceutical advertisements – are intensely interesting and a focal point of his studies for the past several years.

Specifically, King studies how images used in those ads are juxtaposed against the stated benefits and risks of taking a drug.

"The FDA requires pharmaceutical advertisers to present both the benefits and risks of a drug in a fair and balanced manner without visual distractions," said King, a...