The ultimate goal of most advertising is to increase product sales. However, much advertising does not exert an immediate impact on consumer purchase behavior, but rather elicits intermediate consumer responses, such as increased brand awareness, interest, and information seeking

Within the past 20 years, consumer advertising of prescription drugs has grown from a rarity to one of the most pervasive forms of consumer advertising, with ads for antidepressants and heart medications now as common as those for fast food and automobiles. At the same time, direct-to-consumer...