A Comparison of the Persuasive Effects of Mild Humor and Mild Fear Appeals

Abstract An experiment is described in which mild humor and mild fear-arousing appeals are studied for two “new” products. Effects are compared for the humor, the fear, and a straightforward information message. Results on the humor appeals are similar to those of many other studies; they were not different than the straightforward information treatment. However, fear appeals had negative effects, which conflicts with some previous results and suggests that advertisers should be cautious about using fear appeals.