Background: With nearly three-fourths of the U S population isolated in their homes between early March and the end of May, almost all of whom regularly watch television (TV), it was no surprise that companies began to purchase airtime on major television networks to advertise (ad) their brands and showcase their empathy with the populace But how would the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic curve have changed had these same dollars been allocated to proven preventive interventions? Methods: Performance and activity metrics on all COVID-19 related TV ads that have aired in the U S between February 26th and June 7th, 2020, were provided by iSpot tv, Inc , including expenditures COVID-19 incidence and mortality data were collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Descriptive statistics were performed to calculate total TV ad expenditures and other performance metrics across industry categories Leveraging a previously published stochastic agent-based model that was used to assess the cost-effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions to control COVID-19, the number of cases that would have been prevented had these same dollars been used for preventive interventions was calculated using cost-effectiveness ratios (CERs), the cost divided by cases prevented Results: A total of 1,513 companies purchased TV airtime during the study period, totaling approximately 1 1 million airings, 215 5 billion impressions, and $2 7 billion in expenditures;most of the expenditures were spent by the restaurant (15 9%), electronics and communications (15 4%), and vehicle (13 7%) industries The CERs for PPE and social distancing measures were $13,856 and $29,552, respectively;therefore, had all of these TV ad dollars instead been allocated to PPE or social distancing measures, approximately 194,908 and 91,386 cases of COVID-19 may have been prevented by the end of the study period, respectively Conclusion: Americans were inundated with COVID-19 related TV ads during the early months of the pandemic and companies are now showing some signs to relent In times of disaster, however, it is paramount that the private sector go beyond showcasing their empathy and truly become socially responsible by allocating their funds to proven prevention and control measures
The misappropriation of COVID-19 related TV ad expenditures