Stylistic Features, Need for Sensation, and Confirmed Recall of National Smoking Prevention Advertisements

Abstract

A growing body of research suggests that specific stylistic message features have meaningful implications for message attention, recall, and processing. This study combines content analysis ( n =45 ads) with population survey data from the Legacy Media Tracking Surveys ( n =32,977 teens) to (a) identify associations between specific visual, audio, and format features and recall of televised smoking prevention advertisements and (b) test whether these associations are moderated by the need for sensation (NFS). Consistent with research derived from the limited capacity model of mediated message processing, 6 of 7 hypothesized stylistic features increased the likelihood of ad recall. However, contrary to predictions outlined by the activation model of information exposure (AMIE), no differences were observed in the magnitude of these associations by NFS. Results underscore the importance of stylistic considerations in designing health campaign messages and raise questions about the central propositions of the AMIE.