OBJECTIVES: Pharmaceutical companies utilize various promotional strategies to advertise a drug during its patent life. Study purpose was to understand these strategies by exploring the content of drug advertising using the framework of Product Life Cycle (PLC). During different stages of PLC, this study assessed drug ads for the following: (1) type of characters appearing in the ad, (2) source of information (SOI) for the drug, and (3) ad appeals (rational vs. emotional). METHODS: Unique ads of Pfizer, Inc. drug Lipitor (Atorvastatin), aired during CNN evening news (from Jan 1^st ’96 – Nov 30^th ’11 [patent life of Lipitor]), were evaluated. The Vanderbilt TV News Archive provided the advertising content. PLC phases were defined as follows: introduction and growth (Phase-I: 1999-2002); maturity (Phase-II: 2003-2006); and decline (Phase-III: 2007-2011). Code sheet was developed using prior literature and pilot-tested for the final study. Four coders were trained in coding procedures. Reliability was measured with Cohen’s kappa. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations. RESULTS: Twenty-one (phase-I: 2; phase-II: 7; phase-III: 12) unique product-specific ads were analyzed. Researchers of the advertised drug appeared more in phase-II [3 (43%) of 7 vs. 3 (25%) of 12 in phase-III)]. Person with medical condition appeared more in phase-III [9 (75%) of 12 vs 4 (57%) of 7 in phase-II)]. In all three phases an anonymous voice provided drug information.  Researchers were a SOI in phase-II [3 (43%) of 7 ads] and a person with medical condition was a SOI in phase-III [7 (58%) of 12]. The appeal of phase-II ads was rational compared to ads in phase-III [4 (57%) of 7 vs. 5 (43%) of 12 ads]. CONCLUSIONS: Distinctive ad strategies were observed throughout the PLC of Lipitor. These differentiated strategies coincided with shifts in PLC phases, which indicate a change in ads based on the phase of PLC.