Advertising in the Professions

The issue of self-promotional advertising has been under active consideration by most of the professional bodies in the UK, and, generally, the reaction has been hostile. From a position where advertising was anathema to the professional, however, the rising tide of consumerism on the one side and government dedication to free competition on the other have weakened the professions' protective barriers. This review of the literature on regulation and de-regulation of advertising draws on studies which have relevance to, or have been concerned with, the professions of medicine, law and accountancy. The study begins with a brief section on how advertising might work and its relevance to the professions. There is then a discussion of the studies, mainly from the USA, which have looked at individual advertising in the professions and attempts at blanket suppression of advertising. A wide range of studies are cited which have been used either by those who oppose professional advertising or by those who support it. The former group is generally made up of studies from professional groups themselves. By contrast, there is a growing body of evidence showing that, with the de-regulation of advertising in the professions in the USA far from this increasing the prices of goods, as was assumed previously, the absence of advertising actually increases the price of goods above the levels that prevail where advertising is allowed. The final section considers a number of recent attitudinal studies of both professionals and consumers.