How Do Consumers Interpret Market Leadership Claims in Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs?

Claims such as “most prescribed” are commonly made by topselling prescription drug brands in their direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. Under the FDA’s current policy, sponsors may present “market leadership claims” (MLCs) with only sales data to support the claim. This paper examines how MLCs might affect consumers’ product judgments and whether such claims evoke unwarranted inferences and beliefs about the superiority of the leading brand. Results of two studies suggest that market leadership claims in DTC advertising signal greater trust of the brand among prescribing doctors and imply superior product effectiveness under conditions when supporting survey and clinical data to support such inferences have not been provided.