ABSTRACT
Social marketing messages are designed to persuade people to avoid problematic or detrimental behaviors, or engage in positive behaviors, to enhance the well-being of self and/or society (Andreasen 1994). Social marketing messages are included in school programs, in educational brochures, and increasingly in the mass media ads that we see every day (Hornik 2002). Government and nonprofit entities are paying to have ads placed in the mass media, assuming that the costs are more than offset by the savings from preventing problems. Recent examples include the US Office of National Drug Control Policy’s “My Anti-drug” campaign (Kelder et al. 2000), American Legacy Foundation’s “Truth” anti-smoking campaign (Farrelly et al. 2003), and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Verb” exercise campaign (Vranica 2003).
