Congruity between mood and message regulatory focus enhances the effectiveness of anti drinking and driving advertisements: A global versus local processing explanation

Sela Sar*, George Anghelcev

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Alcohol-impaired driving (AID) has devastating effects on society. To decrease the incidence of AID, high-risk populations like college students are often targeted by anti-AID advertising campaigns. The present study examines the effectiveness of anti- AID advertisements as a function of pre-existing audience mood. Two experiments showed that congruity between the mood of the audience (positive, negative) and the regulatory focus of the ad (promotion, prevention) can increase advertising effectiveness. Positive mood enhanced the effectiveness of promotion-framed ads, whereas negative mood enhanced the effectiveness of prevention-framed ads. The effects were attributable to differential engagement in global or local processing. Positive mood induced a tendency to engage in global processing, and negative mood fostered engagement in local processing. Theoretical contributions are considered along with actionable recommendations for the creators of anti-AID advertising campaigns.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)421-446
Number of pages26
JournalInternational Journal of Advertising
Volume34
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015

Keywords

  • Attitude
  • Behavior
  • Information processing
  • Mood
  • Social advertising

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication
  • Marketing

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