Tobacco Advertising Features That May Contribute to Product Appeal Among US Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

Introduction Cigarette advertising is a causal agent of smoking uptake among young people. Although prior research links ad receptivity to tobacco product interest and use, little is known regarding the specific advertising tactics associated with increased product appeal among young people. Methods A national sample of 13-20 year-olds (N=3,688, youth) and 21-24 year-olds (N=1,556, young adults) in the United States participated in an online survey in 2017 (mean age 18.1 years). The majority (72.0%) of youth and nearly half (44.8%) of young adults were never smokers. Participants were shown a cigarette ad, randomly assigned from a pool of 50 advertisements, and reported how much they liked the ad, and were curious about and interested in using the advertised product. All 50 advertisements were content analyzed for a variety of features. Data from the survey and content analysis were merged and mixed effects analyses used to identify the features associated with increased liking, curiosity, and interest in using, referred to collectively as product appeal. Results Presence of a sweepstakes offer was associated with increased liking, curiosity and interest among youth and curiosity and interest among young adults. Outdoors settings, flora imagery, natural descriptors, and environmental themes were associated with increased appeal. Price reductions (e.g., coupons) were associated with decreased appeal among youth. Conclusions This study identified several advertising tactics associated with increased appeal among youth and young adults. If additional research confirms these findings, the U.S. Food and Drug Association should consider restricting use of these tactics in tobacco advertising.

Noticing people, discounts and non-tobacco flavours in e-cigarette ads may increase e-cigarette product appeal among non-tobacco-using young adults

“…Measures of e-cigarette product appeal were liking of the ad (referred to as ad liking), curiosity about the product in the ad (referred to as product curiosity) and interest in using the product (referred to as use interest) 24. Ad liking was adapted from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study,25 while product curiosity and use interest were adapted from the Expanded Susceptibility to Smoke Index 26 27.…”

“…Ad liking was adapted from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study,25 while product curiosity and use interest were adapted from the Expanded Susceptibility to Smoke Index 26 27. Specifically, ad liking was assessed using the question, ‘How much did you like the ad’24 on a 5-point scale: (1) dislike very much, (2) dislike, (3) neither dislike nor like, (4) like and (5) like very much. Product curiosity and use interest were assessed by asking participants to indicate how much they agreed with the statements, ‘This ad made me curious about the product’ and ‘This ad made me want to use the product.’24 Agreement for both statements was assessed on a 5-point scale: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neither agree nor disagree, (4) agree and (5) strongly agree.…”

“…Specifically, ad liking was assessed using the question, ‘How much did you like the ad’24 on a 5-point scale: (1) dislike very much, (2) dislike, (3) neither dislike nor like, (4) like and (5) like very much. Product curiosity and use interest were assessed by asking participants to indicate how much they agreed with the statements, ‘This ad made me curious about the product’ and ‘This ad made me want to use the product.’24 Agreement for both statements was assessed on a 5-point scale: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neither agree nor disagree, (4) agree and (5) strongly agree. All three product appeal measures were dichotomised as 0 for neutral responses (neither agree nor disagree, neither dislike nor like) and negative responses (strongly disagree, disagree, dislike very much, dislike) and 1 for positive responses (agree, strongly agree, like very much, like) 24.…”

“…Product curiosity and use interest were assessed by asking participants to indicate how much they agreed with the statements, ‘This ad made me curious about the product’ and ‘This ad made me want to use the product.’24 Agreement for both statements was assessed on a 5-point scale: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neither agree nor disagree, (4) agree and (5) strongly agree. All three product appeal measures were dichotomised as 0 for neutral responses (neither agree nor disagree, neither dislike nor like) and negative responses (strongly disagree, disagree, dislike very much, dislike) and 1 for positive responses (agree, strongly agree, like very much, like) 24. Similarly, any positive responses towards ad liking, product curiosity, or use interest were combined into a ‘yes’ category to capture any product appeal 24…”

“…All three product appeal measures were dichotomised as 0 for neutral responses (neither agree nor disagree, neither dislike nor like) and negative responses (strongly disagree, disagree, dislike very much, dislike) and 1 for positive responses (agree, strongly agree, like very much, like) 24. Similarly, any positive responses towards ad liking, product curiosity, or use interest were combined into a ‘yes’ category to capture any product appeal 24…”