COVID-19 Public Service Advertisements through the Prism of Goal-Framing Theory

Abstract

Public service advertisements (PSAs) about COVID-19 were a main means of slowing the spread of the virus in 2020. Yet the literature lacks research on the design of such PSAs regarding motivation elements, though this knowledge can help develop more persuasive PSAs for health communication beyond COVID-19. The present study turned to motivation theory as the foundation of behavior change and explored whether and how motivation elements were incorporated into COVID-19 PSAs through goal-framing theory (GFT) and using a deductive thematic analysis to identify goal appeals. In addition, an inductive thematic analysis was used to explore other persuasion strategies and tactics in PSAs for a fuller picture of their design. The analysis of sixty-three PSAs raises several concerns. First, in the United States there was insufficient use of goal appeals; federal government organizations (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] in the United States) incorporated goal appeals much less frequently than global health organizations and advertising organizations did. Second, the prevalence of PSAs that were built on instructions without any motivation elements, as well as those using positive elements and humor, may have decreased persuasiveness. The study’s findings should be taken into consideration by advertising scholars and practitioners in health communication.