title: Selling Health to the Distracted: Consumer Responses to Source Credibility and Ad Appeal Type in a Direct-to-Consumer Advertisement.
abstract: Since 1997, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration first allowed prescription drug companies to release ads directly targeting the public, direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising has become an integral part of the pharmaceutical industry marketing toolkit, reaching over $4 billion in 2005. In an experiment where cognitive load, a task that requires the investment of a subject's memory in an unrelated task; source credibility; and advertising appeal type (affective or cognitive) were manipulated, attitude toward the ad was measured for a print DTC meningitis vaccine ad. Main effect results for source credibility and advertising appeal type on attitude toward the ad were found, and interactions between manipulated variables were apparent when the individual difference variables related to a specific illness (vaccination history, living in a dorm, family members or friends who had suffered the illness) were taken into account.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication , The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley , Edinburg , Texas.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lemanski
authors.affiliation: b College of Business and Management , University of Illinois at Springfield , Springfield , Illinois.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Villegas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003071:Cognition; D000067088:Direct-to-Consumer Advertising / Q000379:methods*; D004345:Drug Industry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D040541:Marketing; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs
keywords: DTC prescription drug advertising; advertising appeal type; cognitive load; source credibility