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Whereas advertisements strive to increase revenue, PSAs work to educate and inform. Even though both share the similar goal of persuasion, advertising tends to lead to more effective sales, unlike PSAs, which can have little effect on audience behaviors. Using a systematic, quantitative content analysis, this study examines emotional appeals and viewer engagement in safe-sex PSAs and condom advertisements in online videos (N = 132). PSAs with humor appeals received more viewer attention in terms of views, comments, and ratings than humorous advertisements. Recommendations for designing public health campaigns are discussed in terms of specific appeals for garnering audience attention.
Elise M. Stevens (Tue,) studied this question.