Correspondence: Mathew Joseph, Bill Greehey School of Business, St Mary's University, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, TX 78228, USA. Tel: +1 251 406 1456; Fax: +1 251 665 0585; e-mail: josephmj1@yahoo.com

¹is an Associate Dean at the Mitchell College of Business at the University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA. She holds MA and PhD degrees from the University of Alabama. She is the author of articles in the areas of health care marketing, service marketing, advertising management, business ethics and marketing education.

²is the Emil C.E Jurica Distinguished Professor of Marketing at St Mary's University, San Antonio, TX, USA. He holds an MBA degree from the Southeast Missouri State University and a PhD degree from the University of Waikato in New Zealand. He is the author of a number of articles in the areas of cross cultural marketing, service quality, marketing strategy, health care marketing, electronic marketing, service technology, international advertising and promotion, marketing to Asia and Latin America and marketing education.

³is an assistant professor of Marketing at the University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA. He holds an MBA degree from the University of Mississippi and a PhD degree from the University of Alabama. He is the author of articles in the areas of marketing strategy and sponsorships.

Received 4 May 2008; Revised 4 May 2008; Published online 22 August 2008.

Abstract

This study examines direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising by comparing the views of urban senior citizens to rural consumers; the study, therefore, compares two groups that frequently use prescription drugs. The findings reveal that older urban consumers are less likely to believe that DTC advertising accurately portrays side effects and risks or to go to a physician based on these advertisements as compared to their rural counterparts. Older urban consumers were more aware of the Medicare Part D drug insurance programme, but less satisfied with these programmes compared to rural residents who were also Medicare Part D participants. The paper closes with a discussion of the implications of these findings.