Jeremy Kees

Understanding How Graphic Pictorial Warnings Work on Cigarette Packaging

The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act requires cigarette packages to contain stronger warnings in the form of color, graphic pictures depicting the negative health consequences of smoking. The authors present results from a between-subjects experiment with more than 500 smokers that test (1) the effectiveness of pictorial warnings that vary in their graphic depiction of the warning and (2) an underlying mechanism proposed to drive potential effects of the manipulation of the graphic depiction. The findings indicate that more graphic pictorial warning depictions strengthen smokers’ intentions to quit smoking. Recall of warning message statements is reduced by moderately or highly graphic pictures compared with a no-picture control or less graphic pictures. The results also show that the graphic warnings affect evoked fear, and in turn, fear mediates the effects of the graphic warning depiction on intentions to quit for the sample of smokers. This pattern of results indicates that though highly graphic pictures may reduce specific message recall and limit the direct effect of recall on intentions to quit, highly graphic pictures increase intentions to quit smoking through evoked fear (i.e., fear fully mediates the effect of the graphic depiction level). The authors discuss implications for consumer health and policy decisions.

Is Simpler Always Better? Consumer Evaluations of Front-of-Package Nutrition Symbols

Consumers of packaged goods products in the United States recently have faced an onslaught of front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbols and icons, including the controversial “Smart Choices” single summary indicator. In a between-subjects experiment with 520 adult consumers, the authors compare effects of the Smart Choices (SC) icon, the more complex Traffic Light–Guideline Daily Amounts (TL-GDAs) icon, and a no-FOP icon control for a nutritionally moderate food that qualifies for the SC icon. Drawing from principles of heuristic processing and halo effects, the authors predict and find that the SC icon can lead to positive (and potentially misleading) nutrient evaluations and product healthfulness when compared with the TL-GDA icon or no-FOP icon control. When the Nutrition Facts Panel is not available, the TL-GDA icon results in substantially greater nutrition accuracy scores than with the SC icon or control. The authors also find that nutrition consciousness is more likely to moderate effects related to the Nutrition Facts Panel than the FOP nutrition icon information. Implications are offered for public health officials, nutrition researchers, and food manufacturers, as the Food and Drug Administration considers FOP nutrition alternatives for use in the United States.

Tests of Graphic Visuals and Cigarette Package Warning Combinations: Implications for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

The World Health Organization recently adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a groundbreaking public health treaty that will require that warning information in the form of text, pictures, or a combination of these two forms cover at least 30% of the front and back of cigarette packages. In three studies using smokers from the United States and Canada, the authors examine the effects of specific graphic visuals in the context of current U.S. verbal warnings. The findings indicate that including both graphic visual warnings, such as those used in Canada, and warning statements currently used in the United States can decrease the perceived attractiveness of the package and create higher levels of negative affect, such as fear or anxiety. The results also show that the addition of the specific visual warnings examined to the U.S. statements increases smokers’ perceived intentions of quitting smoking compared with warning statements alone. The authors offer implications for public policy and public health and provide suggestions for further research.

Transforming Consumer Health

The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is intended to transform the U.S. health care system. Its success will require the transformation of consumers’ views about health and their willingness to participate in healthful behaviors. Focusing on three barriers to consumers’ engagement in healthful behaviors, the authors review the research literature and suggest opportunities for further research. Using a social marketing perspective, they suggest actions for health care providers, marketers, and policy makers to help overcome these barriers.

An Analysis of Data Quality: Professional Panels, Student Subject Pools, and Amazon's Mechanical Turk

Data collection using Internet-based samples has become increasingly popular in many social science disciplines, including advertising. This research examines whether one popular Internet data source, Amazons Mechanical Turk (MTurk), is an appropriate substitute for other popular samples utilized in advertising research. Specifically, a five-sample between-subjects experiment was conducted to help researchers who utilize MTurk in advertising experiments understand the strengths and weaknesses of MTurk relative to student samples and professional panels. In comparisons across five samples, results show that the MTurk data outperformed panel data procured from two separate professional marketing research companies across various measures of data quality. The MTurk data were also compared to two different student samples, and results show the data were at least comparable in quality. While researchers may consider MTurk samples as a viable alternative to student samples when testing theory-driven outcomes, precautions should be taken to ensure the quality of data regardless of the source. Best practices for ensuring data quality are offered for advertising researchers who utilize MTurk for data collection.

Pulling on the Heartstrings: Examining the Effects of Emotions and Gender in Persuasive Appeals

Charities and nonprofits often solicit donations from private individuals. These organizations may use persuasive appeals that contain emotional content to encourage individuals to render their support. Research in consumer behavior has established a link between emotional persuasive appeals and prosocial behavior. In three experiments, this research examines the efficacy of two common emotions—pride and sympathy—in charitable appeals. Biological sex and gender roles are examined as potential moderators of emotion. In addition, a classification for donors based on the motives they may have for engaging in prosocial behaviors is suggested. Strategies for segmentation and targeting individuals with specific emotional appeals are illuminated.

How Graphic Visual Health Warnings Affect Young Smokers' Thoughts of Quitting

Two-thirds of adolescent and young adult smokers become lifetime smokers, and one-half of those lifetime smokers will die from this habit. The authors examine alternative persuasive pathways to thoughts of quitting taken by adolescent and young adult smokers when exposed to graphic visual health warnings on cigarette packages. For adolescent smokers, the authors find that graphic warnings and smoking frequency affect fear, and fear influences negative health beliefs about smoking, ultimately increasing thoughts of quitting. They also find that the graphic warning and a graphic warning × smoking frequency interaction have incremental effects on quit thoughts beyond the effects of fear and negative health beliefs. Using a longitudinal design with a sample of young adult smokers, the authors find support for many of the adolescent smoker findings, particularly the incremental effects of graphicness and its interaction with smoking frequency. These similar results from diverse samples support the use of graphic visual warnings but suggest that effects are attenuated for those who smoke the most. The authors offer implications for countermarketing programs and public health policy.

Flies in the Ointment? Addressing Potential Impediments to Population-Based Health Benefits of Restaurant Menu Labeling Initiatives

Section 4205 of the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) will require calorie labeling of food products sold in restaurant chains in the near future. However, research regarding the potential impact of this policy is mixed. The authors note some key impediments that diminish the likelihood of population-based reductions in calorie consumption, in addition to necessary conditions required to realize long-term favorable effects of menu labeling initiatives. The authors discuss key moderators of labeling effects that need to be considered and offer recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of calorie labeling. They also consider specific opportunities for further research and unintended consequences of labeling of restaurant items. They argue that although calorie labeling may not have a substantial impact in the short run on the broad population of restaurant diners, specific segments should benefit, and there potentially will be reductions in purchases of less healthy items for which the expectations of calorie-conscious consumers have been inaccurate.

Sound Disclosures: Assessing When a Disclosure Is Worthwhile

In this article, the authors introduce the notion of a “sound disclosure” and define it from the perspective of academic, business, and legal/policy (expert) constituencies. The authors define sound disclosure as the direct linkage of a policy standard to a dedicated, rigorous consumer testing methodology that measures explicitly stated communication objectives put forth in the policy. Sound disclosure results when the policy is influenced by the disclosure testing. Consequences of a sound disclosure testing regime can include withdrawing the disclosure from the marketplace because of harmful, unintended consequences to the target population or, conversely, adding supplementary materials (e.g., educational primes) to maximize the disclosures effectiveness. Drawing from previous research, the authors illustrate various standards of sound disclosure efficacy.

The Impact of Violence Against Women in Advertisements

Understanding the impact of portrayals of violence and abuse by advertising media, especially when directed at women, requires our going beyond concerns about effectiveness of such marketing communications. Previous research finds an unequivocal and harmful increased acceptance of cross-gender aggression and rape within society as a result of sexualized violence. However, none of these investigations examines the impact of violence as an advertising appeal. Thus, our research looks at the influence of sexualized violence in ads on rape myth beliefs and traditional consumer behavior variables. The findings from our study suggest that sexualized violence appeals may impact important advertising variables and appeal to specific market segments, but nevertheless have little value for marketing success.