title: Evaluation of the "Lose Your Excuse" public service advertising campaign for tweens to save energy.
abstract: This study evaluates the 2008-2009 "Lose your Excuse" public service advertising (PSA) campaign on energy efficiency targeting 8- to 12-year-olds, intended to increase knowledge, foster proactive attitudes, and change energy usage behaviors. Baseline and two follow-up surveys were conducted with online samples representative of the national population of households with kids with online access. Almost half (47%) of the tweens recognized at least one ad from the campaign. Ad recognition was positively associated with knowledge, proactive attitudes, and energy-saving behavior. Propensity score analysis confirmed a small but measurable and statistically significant effect on energy-saving behavior. The discussion section compares these results to public health campaigns in terms of ghost awareness, reach, and effect size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health Systems and Development, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. bertrand@tulane.edu
authors.forename: Jane T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.forename: Patty
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhivan
authors.forename: Yaw
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Agyeman
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barber
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000329:Advertising; D002648:Child; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources; D004560:Electricity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D040241:Social Marketing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States