The Impact of Regulatory Focus on Adolescents’ Response to Antismoking Advertising Campaigns

Abstract

The authors demonstrate that antismoking advertisements are the most persuasive when the viewers’ regulatory focus, the message's regulatory focus, and the message frame function synergistically. In two experiments, 1000 adolescents saw either antismoking advertising about smoking's social consequences or control advertising in a television show. The authors find that for promotion-focused adolescents, a promotion-focused positively framed antismoking message is the most effective at persuading them not to smoke; for prevention-focused adolescents, a prevention-focused negatively framed antismoking message is the most effective. The enhanced ad effectiveness is mediated by message accessibility and diagnosticity.