Our results suggest that social media depictions of tobacco use predict future smoking tendency, over and above the influence of TV and movie depictions of smoking. This is the first known study to specifically assess the role of social media in informing tobacco behavior.

Growing evidence suggests that basic exposure measures, such as recognition-based items, might not operate identically among older and younger adults. We present two studies relevant to this debate. Study 1 provides experimental confirmation of the recognition decline hypothesis, finding an interaction between age and exposure in predicting recognition memory for an advertisement related to global warming. Study 2 assesses television news project evaluation data to explore whether verbatim detail recognition difficulty explains Study 1 results. The two studies provide complementary evidence, not only illustrating recognition decline among the elderly but also providing careful control of exposure in Study 1 and the use of multiple messages, realistic viewing scenarios, and free recall data in Study 2. Taken together, the studies offer a cautionary tale for campaign evaluators. On a broader theoretical level, the results suggest a fruitful path for communication research focused on the nuanced and potentially critical moderating role of age.

The methodology used to assess recall matters. Campaigns may exaggerate the successes or failures of their media campaigns, depending on the approach they employ and how they compare it to other media campaign evaluations. When incorporating streaming video, researchers should consider accessibility and report possible response bias. Researchers should fully define the measures they use, specify any viewing accessibility issues, and make ad comparisons only when using comparable methods.

The current study explored the role of advertising in building an effective cessation service brand in Minnesota, United States. Using data from a ClearWay MinnesotaSM campaign evaluation ( N = 1,361), this study examined how mass media advertising works to reinforce recognition of the QUITPLAN Services brand, brand favorability, and brand attributes. Respondents with confirmed awareness of television campaign ads were significantly more likely to report ever hearing of the brand than those who were not aware of the ads (odds ratio [OR] = 4.28, p < .001). In addition, confirmed ad awareness correlated with brand favorability (β = .37, p < .001) and attributes (personalized: β = .50, p < .001; respectful: β = .43, p < .001; proven: β = .42, p < .001; accessible: β = .46, p < .001), and there was a significant relationship between brand favorability and intention to quit among smokers (OR = 2.44, p = .001). The findings in this study contribute to the literature on social marketing and health branding by demonstrating effective strategies for establishing a cessation service brand. Practical implications, research limitations, and future directions are discussed.