The use of positive and negative appeals in social advertising: a content analysis of television ads for preventing HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Effectiveness of positive and negative appeals in social advertising depends on the target audience and the context in which the messages are applied. However, there is a dearth of research on the real use of such message appeals by social marketers. Considering the importance of practice theory in social marketing, this paper presents a longitudinal research on the use of positive and negative appeals in social advertising, since communication has been particularly relevant in social marketing practices over time. A content analysis of 375 HIV/AIDS-prevention TV ads from four European countries indicates that positive appeals had expressive and higher proportional use over the entire period under analysis. The researchers identified positive appeals, especially in rhetoric, music and voice tonality, while negative appeals are more prevalent in narratives and signs from the scenes. The results show that participation of public figures promoting coping response was low, but increasing over time. Negative appeals are mostly expressed in countries with higher uncertainty avoidance indexes and higher epidemic incidence rates. The prevalence of positive and negative appeals in social advertisements informs about practitioners’ choices when designing campaigns and allows analyzing congruity between the use of appeals and theoretical recommendations for social marketing effectiveness. The study opens the discussion about the application of social marketing theories into practice and how the analysis of social marketing practices may contribute to design innovative theoretical approaches, particularly regarding a topic plagued by inconsistent findings in the literature on message-frame effectiveness in social marketing. The practitioners’ preference for the gain-frame perspective over the protection motivation approach allows inquiring about the motivations and constraints leading to that choice.

Social media engagement in the maritime industry during the pandemic

“…‘Self-efficacy’ content types were found to have a positive and significant effect on engagement. This is supported by existing literature which affirmed that a positive appeal message increases stakeholder engagement due to positive emotional arousal through the increase of the coping appraisal of the threat ( Casais and Proença, 2021 ).…”

Design of Digital Media Advertisement from the Perspective of Base Image Schema Based on Web

“…As new media become more common in social life [1], they play an increasing role in encouraging and spreading social culture. Di erent from traditional media, new media has the characteristics of directional, inclusive, and young audience, which enables new media to quickly integrate into the society and become a strong social trend [2]. Owing to the excellent characteristics of new media, the communication culture is more optimized, more original, the cultural forms are more diversi ed, and the cultural power of communication is obvious.…”

Social action advertising: motivators and detractors in cause-oriented behaviors

“…This study partially supports the study by Yousef et al (2021) where a negative theme supports a positive charity response. Casais and Proença (2022) indicate negative appeals were contained in voiceover narratives and signs within the commercial scenes. In this study, it is all about the context.…”

“…Academic literature suggests social marketers can strive to achieve a specific compliance through both positive, or negative, appeal in messaging (Casais and Proença, 2022). It has also been noted that context, set through either emotional or informational tone, will prompt a cognitive or affective response.…”

“…Positive appeals were most often associated with voice tonality and music, while negative appeals were contained in voiceover narratives and signs within the commercial scenes. Geographically, it should be noted negative appeals are most conducive within countries with high uncertainty avoidance indexes (Casais and Proença, 2022). Emotional triggers can also validate the social message.…”