Abstract

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether three different types of verbal message appeals in advertisements affected the viewers’ attitude towards the product being advertised and towards the advertisement. The study explored whether individuals who viewed an advertisement with a positive emotional advertisement appeal, negative emotional appeal, or informational appeal differed in their attitude towards the product as well as the level of memorability, believability, and negative attitude (towards the product). Participants were also asked to rank the advertisement based on how cheerful, emotional, humorous, natural, irritating, and understandable they considered the advertisement. Before testing advertisement effects, individual factors including: social comparison, body satisfaction, self-esteem, workout patterns, and eating patterns were explored. In addition, factors such as whether the participant had dieted before, used a dietary supplement, read health magazines and whether they play a sport in college were explored. Results did not show significant effects between the message appeals and pre-test concepts however, there was a significant effect between messages on how cheerful, humorous, and understandable they ranked the advertisements. Key Terms: Message Appeal, weight-loss supplement

Advisor

Johnson, Michelle

Department

Communication Studies

Keywords

Message Appeal, weight-loss supplement

Publication Date

2015

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2015 Caitlin E. Shea