I'm thankful the ads for Eliquis, Xarelto, and Pradaxa were on TV when I was first diagnosed with afib and told I needed to be on a blood thinner. If they hadn't been, I probably would have thought my only options would have been Plavix plus aspirin, warfarin, or heparin, when the VA gave me choice of anything on the market, not endorsing any of them, and not providing much information.
It's also nice to see some other medications being advertised on TV that were developed via applied research, clinical trials, etc. from primary research I was involved with as a lab assistant at the VA many decades ago.
I think the prescription drug ads make the docs, etc. stay more current because patients see the ads and ask about the drugs. In some cases, this might help with patient-doc communication and patient education because the doc gets to explain why a particular drug is or isn't appropriate, or is/isn't as good in a particular situation. Building relationship, trust, and patient compliance with treatment plan. Or able to make a better decision to stick with the doc or find a second opinion/different doc.
[ducks rocks]
