Advertisements in the Lithuanian pharmaceutical journals, 1923–1940

Abstract

Introduction: Lithuanian pharmacists during the interwar period published two journals set up to their profession – “Farmacijos žinios” (Pharmacy News) and “Lietuvos farmaceutas” (Lithuanian Pharmacist). This presentation will analyze what Lithuanian and foreign companies advertised their products in the Lithuanian pharmaceutical journals and discuss the contents of those advertisements. Materials and methods: The press studies and comparative method. Results: Comparing the advertising tradition in Lithuania of the first half of the 20th century with the American and West Europe advertising of the same period we can state that advertising in Lithuania was still under development. It was very reserved, and specialists attitudes towards drug advertising were critical. The pharmaceutical journals during their early years contained mostly advertisements for patent medicines submitted by individual pharmacies. Gradually, independent drug and chemical manufacturers emerged and started mass production of drugs and chemicals. Individual pharmacies could not compete with them. This resulted in a decrease in the amount of advertisements from individual pharmacies and an increase in the amount of advertisements from the newly-established pharmaceutical companies and their distributors. Later on, foreign producers began to run their own advertising campaigns. German companies were the most active ones. Only in fourth decade large foreign and Lithuanian producers started using visual advertisement, logos, and suggestive texts. Conclusions: After reviewing advertising of that time it seems that there was no striving to place as much information as possible, only a rare advertisement contained phrases praising the company, most of them would tell only the names of drugs, traded by the company.