DTC drain: consumer ad spend fell sharply in 2012 as the number of mass-market blockbusters continued to dwindle and marketers shifted their focus away from TV and toward digital channels. Meanwhile, as Matthew Arnold finds, the debate over the pros and cons of DTC is still raging, even as evidence of its merits accumulates

Consumer advertising of prescription drugs is effective. It's controversial--reviled, even. It influences the medical decision-making of lay people with little medical knowledge--while educating them about diseases and treatment options they [...]