The Impact of Fusion Metaphors in Health Appeals on Consumer Attitudes

Using structure-mapping theory, this research examines the efficacy of fusion metaphors in health campaigns aimed at changing consumer attitudes. Two experiments show that using fusion metaphors can have unintended consequences: Although these metaphors are meant to highlight the negative attributes of a target product, such as tasty but unhealthy food, they can inadvertently make the source product, such as a pack of cigarettes, appear more appealing. This poses challenges in effectively promoting health and may undermine the intended message of the campaign. This research brings both theoretical and managerial contributions by identifying the product attributes on which fusion metaphors are based.