Seeing and liking cigarette advertisements: is there a 'mere exposure' effect?
Matthis Morgenstern1, Barbara Isensee, Reiner Hanewinkel
1Institute for Therapy and Health Research (IFT-Nord), Medical School, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
European Addiction Research
|September 6, 2012
Summary
Exposure to cigarette ads, like Marlboro, increases liking for the advertisement among adolescents. This effect persists even when accounting for numerous other factors, suggesting potential unconscious influences.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Psychology
- Marketing
Background:
- Adolescent exposure to cigarette advertising is a public health concern.
- Understanding the psychological impact of advertising on youth attitudes is crucial for prevention.
- Previous research suggests a link between advertising exposure and favorable attitudes, but the robustness of this association requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between exposure to a specific cigarette advertisement (Marlboro) and favorable attitudes towards it among German schoolchildren.
- To determine if this association remains significant after controlling for a wide range of potential confounding variables.
Main Methods:
- An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted with 3,415 German schoolchildren aged 10-17.
- Exposure to a Marlboro advertisement was assessed by recall frequency and brand recognition.
- Attitudes towards the advertisement were measured using a validated scale (Cronbach's alpha = 0.78).
Main Results:
- A significant positive linear association was found between exposure to the Marlboro ad and liking the advertisement.
- This association remained statistically significant (standardized β = 0.09; p < 0.001) after controlling for numerous factors including smoking status, peer and parental smoking, general attitudes towards smoking, advertising receptivity, and demographic variables.
- The findings indicate a robust relationship between ad exposure and positive ad attitudes.
Conclusions:
- The robust association between cigarette ad exposure and liking suggests potential implicit advertising effects, such as mere exposure.
- These implicit effects may be difficult to counteract, posing challenges for public health prevention strategies targeting adolescent smoking.
- Further research may be needed to fully understand and mitigate the impact of unconscious advertising influences on youth.
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