Editors’ note: Today advertising by professionals — medical doctors, dentists and attorneys as well as chiropractora — is commonplace. But in the 1960s advertising and marketing were new concepts that stirred up debate.

1967 — The response to my articles on advertising has been highly favorable, approximately ten to one letters received agreeing with my belief that paid advertising was ethical as well as necessary for us. As the president of the Pennsylvania Licensed Chiropractors Association, Dr. Ernest R. King, said, “I agree with you 100% that the advertising must be done by individuals and that those suppressing good advertising are taking chiropractic away from the 75% of the American public who are ignorant about the benefits of our service. Ever since becoming a chiropractor I have been telling my D.C. friends that unless we take the chiropractic message to the millions needing chiropractic care and deserving to be told about it, we do not deserve to remain the sole proprietors of our great therapy.”

I am well aware that the letters I receive do not represent a fair consensus of opinion; those favoring this issue would be more likely to write that those opposing it. Nevertheless, it does seem that there is a groundswell of opinion that a change is in order and that advertising may be it. Probably, as with any new and vigorous movement, the majority of our profession is adopting a wait and see game. Waiting to see not only if the advertisers remain successful and free from legal involvement, but also to have clarified in their minds whether or not we can adopt commercial practices like advertising and still remain a dignified profession.

I dedicate these articles to that clarification.

Besides the ethics issue-discussed in the August [ITAL] DIGEST.[/ITAL] — the problem of professionalism bothers many. Can a chiropractor advertise openly in the newspapers and continue to be a professional man to the public! “The doctor just doesn’t advertise” has seemed sufficient to many to ban the doctor of chiropractor’s use of advertising, no matter how lucrative to him nor how beneficial to the sick and injured public … and in all of our discussions let us not forget the latter. After all, we are here to serve him.

Yes, I know the medical doctor does not advertise and the public knows it. However, we are not medical doctors and this the public also knows no matter how much some of us try to hide it. Whether we like it or not, we are different and our economies must be different. Since we do not have a drug industry to advertise for us we must take our cue from professions other than the medical.

Every profession has had to formulate its own code of conduct to best serve its own members as well as the public. On the mistaken assumption that we could be just like the medical doctor we have tried to fit their code to our body and it has not fit. True, we have some highly successful practitioners who have found other means than open advertising to solve their public relations problems. Often they are the ones who become highly placed in our associations and who try to lead the whole profession to adopt policies that have proven successful to them. There is certainly nothing wrong with this. However, our policies must be formulated for the majority rather than the few and this majority has not prospered under a no advertising code. Read the statistics showing an average of only 6 calls per week while the medics’ offices are jammed to overflowing. Or look at the miserable state of our half filled colleges. Or at our vulnerability to attack from our medical “friends”. Or just look around you … even at your own empty reception room.

Yes, take a look and learn from our own history. Our profession prospered most, even spread to the far corners of the world, when we were not so concerned about identifying with and aping the medical doctor. Or about getting the last possible dollar from each patient who came to us.

The Professions DO Advertise

Is advertising so unprofessional! Does a professional man advertise! Let us see.

The morticians are a good example for us. If ever there were a profession that did not need to advertise, theirs is it. They have a monopoly (in the sense of being able to keep their numbers restricted) and some day everyone, willy-nilly, is going to require their services. Nor can they increase their “traffic” as a whole by advertising. Yet they have found it profitable to use personal advertising, their public relations has benefited rather than suffered for it, and their associates are strong.

Or take the optometrists, another profession like us with medical competition. Many of them advertise and I see no adverse public reaction because of it. We need good publicity considerably more than they because of the open attacks against us and because of the all pervading drug advertising with which we must compete. At least the optometrists get free publicity every time someone appears on the street with a pair of glasses on.

Tell the druggist he is not a professional man because he advertises! Please note, too, that he uses all kinds of commercial gimmicks to push his products. One cent sales, half price off, special bargains to say nothing of blatant claims of drug effectiveness are constantly used. Does the public stop using his products or services because of such practices! Or do parents stop sending their children to pharmaceutical colleges because of them!

Of course not. The public expects any man to promote himself and is too highly accustomed to seeing any and all kinds of promotions to think such are unusual. Rather, your ordinary person is much more likely to look down on something which he never hears anything about or sees promoted.

Yes, the professions advertise, even the church. It is impossible for them to prosper in our highly competitive society unless they do. Non-paid news releases, giving good services and generally being a good citizen just are not enough when millions of other products and services are clamoring for our attention and money. Note also that most advertising, professional and non-professional, is paid for locally rather than from central association treasury.

Another point, perhaps minor, yet which we should heed, is that the professional man does not advertise over his own name. Instead he advertises his office or other establishment. Dr. John Doe should advertise the Doe Chiropractic Office rather than his personal name.

Summation

We have been speaking of the most important problem our profession faces today, how to effectively get our message across to the sick and injured people who need to hear it. To many of us who have tried mass promotion methods the answer rings clear as a bell. Our practices have increased tremendously, the public image of chiropractic has been raised from something nice people never talk about to a fit subject of conversation, and even fellow D.C.’s have benefited. We new see a wide variety of cases instead of all backaches and headaches. Our patients like to see their favorite therapy mentioned in the papers and they still call us Doctor.

Perhaps to many it seems too easy. Don’t criticize it just because it does work. Instead, before you get too old or set in your ways get on the bandwagon and tell those sick and injured people the truth about chiropractic. They’ll be overjoyed to hear it and you’ll never be sorry.

— By M.L. Stephenson, D.C. .