The authors were then at 1) Department of Sociology, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY 14456 and 2) College of Pharmacy and Allied Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, U.S.A. 

1On one hand, this format overdetermines the message by delimiting the range of possible interpretive moves. On the other hand, the abstractness of the content leaves wide open a range of possible meanings.

2Though physicians are not materially depicted in these ads, their absent presence is a crucial feature of these communications: i.e. these ads not only address doctors, but also address them about themselves. See Chapman [2] on how the mode of addressing physicians mythologizes doctors.

 3The Set of photographic reproductions of these ads used in the original manuscript is too extensive to allow for publication herein Interested readers may examine these ads in general medical journals, pharmacy trade journals, and psychiatry journals between 1981 and 1983. Among the journals carrying ads from these campaigns were JAMA, Resident and Staff Physician, Pharmacy Times, Archives of General Psychiatry and Hospital Practice.

4Even within the elusive limits of the FDA's 'working definition' of misleading drug advertising, this advertising gambit satisfies their criteria: "A misleading prescription drug advertisement is one which causes either through (I) its verbal content, (2) its design, structure and/or visual artwork or (3) the context in which it appears -- at least n% of a representative group of practicing physicians to have a common impression or belief regarding the advertised drug which is incorrect or not justified" [4, p. 1210].

5 An aberrant meaning referring to use of this product and other drugs in other countries, especially developing Countries where regulation is quite poor, might be inferred by readers. Additionally, the statement about 'a decade of worldwide experience in millions of patients" has no empirical referent in terms of the new drug entity, or the company itself. It complements the visual aspect of the ad in a McDonald's sense -- over 50 billion served.

6 Locating a relationship between reading ads and prescribing is a tricky game at best. Critics and defenders alike tend to presuppose the presence or absence of some unilinear relationship between advertising message and physician behaviour. This view is sociologically ignorant. While the advertising message may on occasion, actually trigger a direct reaction, more often the impact will be indirect and mediated by variations in sociological factors and physician characteristics.

7 Time is money in the modern world of medicine, and the physician interested in accumulating the latter can do so by running more patients through the diagnostic mill if treatment consists of prescribing drugs instead of more involved therapies. Continuation of drug therapy without regular checkups or reassessments also happens.