Fear and Humor Appeals in “The Real Cost” Campaign: Evidence of Potential Effectiveness in Message Pretesting

In tobacco prevention campaigns, fear-appeal messages are widely used and generally shown to be effective, whereas the utility of humor appeals is less clear. This study compares the potential effectiveness of fear and humor ads developed for “The Real Cost” campaign. Adolescents (N=1,315) aged 13–17 years who were either experimenting with smoking or susceptible to smoking initiation were randomized to view either a single ad (of three fear and two humor ads in total) or nothing (control condition). Those in the ad viewing condition completed measures on fear, amusement, and perceived ad effectiveness. All participants completed measures on smoking attitudes and risk perceptions. Data were collected in 2014 and 2015. Analysis was performed in 2016. Compared with control, both fear and humor ads produced greater risk perceptions (p