This article presents the results of an experimental portfolio test of alternative formats for an in-ad health warning/disclosure for smokeless tobacco. The study manipulated two format components (the size of type used for the health warning and the warning's background color) and found that neither significantly increased disclosure communication. The data also indicated that the disclosure (which used a health warning federally specified for smokeless tobacco products) failed to communicate the health warning to nearly half of all subjects in spite of forced exposure conditions that were particularly favorable to communication. The implications of these findings on the effectiveness of in-ad health warnings are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BaumgardnerMichael H., HeimbachJames T. and StokesRaymond C. (1978), FDA 1978 Consumer Food Labeling Survey: Demographic Analysis of Survey Responses.Washington, D.C.: Food and Drug Administration, May.
2.
BealesH., BrownJ. (1979), Consumer Information Remedies, Washington DC: Federal Trade Commission.
3.
BettmanJ.R., PayneJ.W. and StaelinR. (1986), “Cognitive Considerations in Designing Effective Labels for Presenting Risk Information,”Journal of Marketing and Public Policy, 5, 1–28.
4.
CalderBobby J., PhillipsLynn W. and TyboutAlice M. (1981), “Designing Research for Application,”Journal of Consumer Research, 8 (September), 197–207.
5.
CampbellDonald T. and StanleyJulian C. (1963), Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research, Chicago: Rand McNally.
6.
ConnollyGregory N., OrleansC. Tracy and KoganMichael (1988), “Use of Smokeless Tobacco in Major-League Baseball,”The New England Journal of Medicine, 318 (19), 1281–5.
7.
DaubeM. (1982), “In Support of Health Warnings,”World Smoking and Health, 3 (2), 42–46.
8.
DayGeorge S. (1976), “Assessing the Effects of Information Disclosure Requirements,”Journal of Marketing, 40 (April), 42–52.
9.
DuBoisCornelius (1974), “Advertising Research,” in FerberRobert, ed., Handbook of Marketing Research, New York: McGraw-Hill.
10.
EngelJames F., BlackwellRoger D. and MiniardPaul W. (1986), Consumer Behavior, New York: Dryden Press.
11.
HoustonMichael and RothschildMichael (1980), “Policy-Related Experiments on Information Provision: A Normative Model and Explication,” Journal of Marketing Research, (November), 432–49.
12.
HunterS.M., CroftJ.B., BurkeG.L., ParkerF. C., WebberL.S. and BerensonG.S. (1986), “Longitudinal Patterns of Cigarette Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco Use in Youth: The Bogalusa Heart Study,”American Journal of Public Health, 76, 193–95.
13.
JacobyJacob, ChestnutRobert W. and SilbermanWilliam (1977), “Consumer Use and Comprehension of Nutritional Information,”Journal of Consumer Research, 4 (September), 119–28.
14.
JacobyJacob, NelsonMargaret C. and HoyerWayne D. (1982), “Corrective Advertising and Affirmative Disclosure Statements: Their Potential for Confusing and Misleading the Consumer,”Journal of Marketing, 46 (Winter), 61–72.
15.
KarnesE.D. and LeonardD.L. (1986), “Consumer Product Warnings: Reception and Understanding of Warning Information by Final Users,” in Trends in Ergonomics/Human Factors III, KarwowhisW., ed., Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers.
16.
KoopC.E. (1989), The Surgeon General of the United States, Report on Cigarette Smoking, Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
17.
LavidgeR. and SteinerG.A. (1961), “A Model for Predictive Measurements of Advertising Effectiveness,”Journal of Marketing, 25 (October), 59–62.
18.
ManvilleRichard (1970), “Advertising Research and Measurement,” in BuellVictor, ed., Handbook of Modem Marketing, New York: McGraw-Hill.
19.
MartinezI. (1969), “Factors Associated with Cancer of the Esophagus, Mouth, and Pharynx in Puerto Rico,”Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 42, 1069–94.
20.
MartyP. J., McDermottR. J. and WilliamsT. (1986), “Patterns of Smokeless Tobacco Use in a Population of High School Students,”American Journal of Public Health, 76, 190–93.
21.
McGuireW. J. (1976), “Internal Psychological Factors Influencing Consumer Choice,”Journal of Consumer Research, 2 (April), 302–19.
22.
MillerJohn A. (1975), “Consumer Information Activities of the Federal Trade Commission,” Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Consumer Action Research, Berlin: International Institute of Management.
23.
MillerJohn A. (1977), “Are Mandated Disclosures Deceptive Advertising?”Journal of Advertising, 6 (Winter), 4–9.
24.
MorganFred W. (1982), “Marketing and Product Liability: A Review and Update,”Journal of Marketing, 46 (Summer), 69–78.
25.
MyersM.L., IscoeC., JenningsC., LennoxW., MinstryE. and SacksA. (1981), Staff Report on the Cigarette Advertising Investigation, Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission.
26.
National Institutes of Health (1986), The Health Consequences of Smokeless Tobacco: A Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General, Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health (NIH Publication No. 86-2874).
27.
RossKenneth (1981), “Legal and Practical Considerations for the Creation of Warning Labels and Instruction Books,”Journal of Products Liability, 4, 29–45.
28.
SchuckerRaymond E., StokesRaymond C., StewartMichael L. and HendersonDouglas P. (1983), “The Impact of the Saccarin Warning Label on Sales of Diet Soft Drinks in Supermarkets,”Journal of Marketing and Public Policy, 2, 46–56.
29.
United States Department of Agriculture (1985), Tobacco Outlook and Situation Report, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1–24.
30.
ViscusiW.K. and MagatW.A. (1986), Analysis of Economic Benefits of Improved Information: Project Period 2 Report, Durham, NC: Center for the Study of Business Regulation, Duke University.
31.
WarderN. and PopperE. (1985), Staff Report on the Smokeless Tobacco Investigation, Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission.
32.
WinnD.M., BlotW.J., ShyC.M., PickleL.W., ToledoA. and FraumeniJ.F.Jr. (1981), “Snuff Dipping and Oral Cancer Among Women in the Southern United States,”New England Journal of Medicine, 304, 745–49.
33.
WilkieW.L. (1981), “Affirmative Disclosure: Perspectives on FTC Orders,”Journal of Marketing and Public Policy, 1, 95–110.
34.
WilkieW.L. (1982), “Affirmative Disclosure: Perspectives on FTC Orders,”Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 1, 95–110.
35.
WilkieW.L. (1983), “Affirmative Disclosure at the FTC: Theoretical Framework and Typology of Case Selection,”Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 2, 3–15.
36.
WilkieW.L. (1985), “Affirmative Disclosure at the FTC: Objectives for the Remedy and Outcomes of Orders,”Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 4, 91–111.
37.
WilkieW.L. (1986), “Affirmative Disclosure at the FTC: Strategy for Disclosure,”Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 5, 123–45.
38.
WilkieW.L. and GardnerD.M. (1974), “The Role of Marketing Research in Public Policy Decision Making,”Journal of Marketing, 38 (Winter), 38–47.
