The cuts coincide with financial difficulties at the DoH, with the NHS on course for a £620m deficit this year. It recently had to shelve an anti-binge drinking campaign after officials imposed a freeze on public-health funding.
The spending cut has implications for the effectiveness of a host of public-health campaigns, including anti-smoking and drug prevention, despite coming at a time when the government has vowed to promote health. A White Paper unveiled this week promised to shift the focus of healthcare onto prevention.
According to official figures, the department's adspend fell from £39m in the 2003/04 financial year to £32.7m in 2004/05. The estimated spend for 2005/06 is £28m; the budget for 2006/07 is under review.
Insiders claim it has become harder to have campaigns signed off and that the DoH is unwilling to spend heavily on advertising while it is suffering elsewhere.
A DoH spokeswoman denied the cuts were related to the funding issues. She added that the department is now spending more on other marketing disciplines.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
