The Social Portrayal of People in OTC Drug Advertising: A Content Analysis of Magazine Advertisements

This study explored the social portrayal of people in OTC drug advertisements in magazines. A content analysis of 167 OTC drug advertisements was performed. The results suggest that the portrayal of people in OTC drug advertisements did not differ siwficantly from the portrayal of people in advertising in general. However, OTC drug advertisements were unique in depicting people of the same age group, in touching distance, and in more frequent use of outdoor settings. OTC drug advertisements tend to portray racial and ethnic minorities less frequently.