Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Misplaced Marketing: Why Television Is The “Wrong” Environment For Public Service Advertising Campaigns, Joyce M. Wolburg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Notes that research has shown that advertising efforts to promote social causes rarely reach meaningful levels of effectiveness. Points out that while the media provide the right emotional climate for advertising messages that encourage consumption, it follows that the media provide the wrong environment for messages that discourage consumption or other behaviors. Concludes that money spent might best be redirected to other prevention efforts that more directly accomplish the social program’s goals.