To gain face or not to lose face: the effect of face message frame on response to public service advertisements

Abstract

The current research examines the effect of face message frame on consumers’ response to public service advertisements (PSAs). Results of three experiments show that not-to-lose-face messages are more persuasive than to-gain-face messages in the contexts of both anti-drunk-driving PSAs (Experiment 1 and Experiment 3) and anti-drug PSAs (Experiment 2). Moreover, the framing effect is more pronounced for individuals whose interdependent self-construal is more accessible, but not for individuals whose independent self-construal is more accessible (Experiments 1, 2, and 3). The moderating effect of self-construal is significant when it is primed both through a task that is independent of the PSA (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2) and through the appeal type (Experiment 3). Further, the findings suggest that a congruency between a not-to-lose-face message and an interdependent appeal leads to more persuasiveness than other available conditions (Experiment 3). We also discuss contributions to theory and implications for advertising practice.