According to an article in the Wall Street Journal today called Ranking Corporate Reputations, the public ranks the pharmaceutical industry just above tobacco companies when it comes to reputation. There is one exception to the rule, though, according to the WSJ article:
One company has shown particular consistency. Johnson & Johnson has had a lock on first place since the survey began in 1999, successfully dodging the bullets fired at other pharmaceutical companies. It scored well for the quality of its products and for emotional appeal because of people's warm feelings about its baby-products business. It also received the highest scores for being ethical and trustworthy. J&J "is as American as Mom and apple pie," one respondent commented.
You also don't see a whole lot of (maybe any) direct-to-consumer advertising about J&J's pharma products, but you do see a lot of baby powder ads. And it is, after all, "the family company." I'm not really going anywhere with this one, but I did think it was interesting to note. I'm trying to figure out where DTC ads come into this, or if they do.
