TV ads no substitute for doctors’ advice

Eleanor NelsonOf all the admonitions to viewers that appear on the TV screen, one of the most aggravating — and certainly the most futile — is “Ask your doctor.”  This is usually in the final segment of a pharmaceutical commercial, and is designed by the company paying for it to stimulate action on the part of the viewer.  I think that a survey of viewers would show that what it actually stimulates is frustration.
The name of the product is flashed on the screen