Testing Smokeless Counter-Marketing Messages: The Role of Fear Appeals

Audience: scholars and practitioners of public communication campaigns

Key Points:

• Background: The Extended Parallel Process Model is a newer theory explaining why fear appeals sometimes fail and sometimes succeed.

• Method: online experiment with a nationally representative sample of 1826 smokers randomly exposed to one of six anti-smokeless print ads followed by a smokeless ad.  Before exposure, perceptions of threat (comprises severity and susceptibility) and efficacy were measured and respondents were classified into four groups based on high/low values of threat and efficacy.

• Results: Different ads evoked different levels of fear, but overall, the type of ad did not matter for the outcome variables (interest in trying snus, change in attitudes towards snus, etc.) in the high/high, high/low, and low/high groups. The biggest differences were in the low/low group, where perceived threat severity of the ad decreased positive smokeless attitudes, but perceived susceptibility led to failed message (increased positive smokeless attitudes and perceptions that the ad was overblown and manipulative).
• Discussion: To decrease openness to try snus and positive attitudes towards snus, ads should include information on severity of health threats, but not susceptibility, which led to undesirable outcomes. 

Educational Experience:  Presentation of study results followed by nuanced discussion of how to assess the audience and to tailor the types of fear appeals based on the type of target audience.

Benefits:  Because many messages in past anti-smokeless campaigns focused on scary health effects, these findings are particularly relevant to prevention and cessation of smokeless tobacco.