It looks like the pharmaceutical industry is still spending ad dollars inside magazines — at least in the ones still publishing. Despite legislative pressures and rumors of the hammer coming down on the tax deduction on ad expenses for prescription drugs, big pharma appears to have a soft spot for print. According to the Publishers Information Bureau, from 2003-2008, drugs & remedies in consumer magazines soared 58% to $2.2 billion, ranking it No. 2 behind toiletries & cosmetics.

The mags are still competing against digital, however. Total direct-to-consumer ad spending declined 11.3% in the first half  of 2009, but the 4% share that went to online was unchanged, per data compiled by eMarketer. In Lucia Moses’ article, “Magazine Industry Hooked on Pharma?,” Time Inc.’s ad sales and marketing EVP says that pharmaceuticals is still a very robust category for them.

“What I’ve seen is, DTC brands are more and more looking at how you can behaviorally target on the Web,” noted one print media buyer for a major drugmaker. “Our DTC dollars haven’t been what they were a few years ago. I think that’s fairly common across DTC.”

To fight spending in this direction, some publishers are offering integrated packages and multi-pronged deals that allow for more accountability and measurability.  Moses mentions, “Integrated deals have paid off for Meredith, which saw pharma ad revenue grow 12.6% to more than $200 million in the 1st 9 months in the year, even as the category has spent less in magazines overall. The spending increase was largely through Meredith’s Better Homes and Gardens and Family Circle.”

Now to brighten your spirits a bit, here’s a look at how much the big players spent on print in 2008:

• Johnson & Johnson laid out $59.3 million at Hearst
• J&J spent $70.7 million in Meredith’s pages
• Even more went to Time Inc. — $80.2 million
• Pfizer allotted $71.5 million to Time Inc.

[Sources: TNS Media Intelligence/PIB; Moses, Lucia. "Magazine Industry Hooked on Pharma?" MediaWeek. Nov. 1, 2009.]