The effects of nostalgia cues in sexual health advertising.

An experimental design was conducted to investigate message effectiveness between reminiscence-bump format (RBF)/nostalgia message formats with traditional message formats in the context of health communication ads about sexual health. Reminiscence bumps, defined as a point in one's life where people can recall their life events, are proposed as a means for improving nostalgic advertising message effectiveness measure in the research. The dependent variables were emotional response, response efficacy (i.e. intent to adopt the behavior), attitude toward the message, and attitude toward the ad. Boomer-aged women completed an online survey. The research found evidence in support of the idea that nostalgic cues in health communication ads improved emotional response to the advertisement, which, in turn, improved their interest to act on health message recommendations.

Use of the PHM Framework to Create Safe-Sex Ads Targeted to Mature Women 50 and Older.

This research applies the Witte's persuasive health message (PHM) framework to the development of creative concepts that promote sexual health strategies to senior-aged women. The PHM framework proposes an integrated approach to improving message effectiveness and maximizing persuasion in health communication campaigns. A focus group method was used to explore two research questions focused on message effectiveness and persuasion. The findings suggest the PHM framework can be a useful starting point for ensuring that health communicators identify the criteria most relevant to successful ad promotions.