“Smoking kills you”
This advertising message really seems to hit home.
You would think that it would get attention and would be very effective. If you do then you are not alone, so did the country France and they ran their own anti smoking campaign.
“Smoking Means Being a Slave to Tobacco”
So was this anti-smoking campaign effective?
The short answer is … Yes, it was.
However, the negative message in these campaigns just was not as effective as a positive campaign would be.
Cornell marketing and nutritional science professor Bryan Wansink, who co-authored the report with University of Vermont nutrition and dietetics professor Lizzy Pope, extended their research into the area of anti-smoking campaigns, the report argues that a positive message, like “If you quit smoking using this help line, you can save almost $2,000 a year,” would likely be more motivating to its audience than the negative message “Smoking kills you” that is more commonly used.
Cornel University did a study and research. The review found that negative messages — like “Eat healthy foods or lose years off your life!” — are effective for some audiences, particularly experts like physicians or nutritionists who are already knowledgeable in the field.
However, positive messages pertaining to what someone should be eating and why it is good for them — such as “By eating healthfully, people can gain positive body image or energy” — tend to work better for a general audience that is less knowledgeable about nutrition.
If you’re a parent, it’s better to focus on the benefits of broccoli and not the harms of hamburgers.
As hard as it may seem, the threat of bad health if you do certain things…………….. is not as effective to the average person as the promise of good health if you do certain things.
Follow us Twitter @maurolibi15
