FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Marketing researchers at the University of Arkansas have completed a study of the impact of an anti-tobacco advertising campaign and found that attitudes toward the campaign and the campaign message were positively connected to the consideration among smokers to kick the habit. Overall, results of the study, which included researchers at Marquette University and the University of Virginia, showed that consumer reaction to the advertising campaign — both television and radio commercials — were significantly related to four key anti-smoking beliefs, which many public health officials argue are important in efforts to convince smokers to quit and to prevent adolescents from starting smoking.

“Participants’ attitude toward the campaign and the messages it targeted had positive effects on beliefs about banning smoking in public locations for both adults and adolescents,” said Scot Burton, professor and Wal-Mart Chair in Marketing in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. “In general, our findings support the potential benefits of positive consumer reactions to anti-smoking campaigns.”

In addition to Burton, Andrea Tangari, a graduate student in the department of marketing and logistics; Craig Andrews of Marquette University; and Richard Netemeyer of the University of Virginia examined consumer reaction to the Wisconsin Anti-Tobacco Media Campaign, a large advertising campaign funded by the state’s legal settlement with the tobacco industry. The advertisements focused on three primary beliefs about the negative aspects of smoking — smoking addictiveness, the harmful nature of second-hand smoke and deceptive advertising by the tobacco industry to induce people to smoke.

In light of a legislative subcommittee’s recently issued national action plan to reduce U.S. tobacco use and a federal judge’s decision that could potentially require corrective advertising from tobacco companies that may have misled consumers, the researchers wanted to understand the extent to which anti-smoking advertising affects consumer beliefs and intentions about smoking.

The research consisted of two studies, one of approximately 900 adults and another including about 900 adolescents. The researchers focused on several questions: Do integrated advertising campaign measures influence key anti-smoking beliefs, and does this influence vary across smoking status? And, perhaps most importantly, what effect do consumer evaluations of the campaign and anti-smoking beliefs have on smokers’ consideration of quitting? 

Both studies examined the effects of three campaign-related measures — number of campaign advertisements recalled, perceived strength of advertisement-based messages and overall advertising campaign attitude — on four key anti-smoking beliefs:

• Tobacco industry deceptiveness

• Smoking addictiveness

• Harmfulness of second-hand smoke

• And restrictions on smoking at public venues.

Results revealed that consumer reactions to the anti-smoking advertisements were significantly related to all anti-smoking beliefs. For adult consumers, overall attitude toward the campaign had a significant effect on three of the four anti-smoking beliefs. For adolescents, attitude toward the campaign had a significant effect on all four beliefs.

The second research question addressed relationships between measures of the advertising campaign and anti-smoking beliefs on adult smokers’ consideration of quitting. The researchers found that younger adults and women were more likely to report positive consideration of quitting. The overall attitude toward the campaign and the beliefs targeted in the campaign further increased the reported consideration of quitting.

“Beyond demographic variables such as age and gender, ” Burton said, “the campaign measures examined were associated with a greater likelihood that adults would consider quitting and adolescents would lower intentions to smoke in the future.”

The researchers’ study was published in the spring 2007 issue of the American Marketing Association’s Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.