Sacred Symbols as a Peripheral Cue in Health Advertisements: An Assessment of Using Religion to Appeal to African American Women about Breast Cancer Screening

This study used the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion to test the effect of a sacred symbol and its impact on African American women and their attitude toward the ad and brand. The 2 × 2 factorial design included premeasures of the respondents' level of involvement with breast cancer screening and a manipulation of the Christian cross in breast cancer screening advertisements. The hypotheses were similar to the ELM and predicted that respondents lowly involved with breast cancer screening would have a favorable attitude toward the ad and brand with the peripheral cue; highly involved respondents would have a favorable attitude toward the ad and brand without the peripheral cue. The analysis showed a main effect of the peripheral cue in advertisements; however, both highly involved and lowly involved respondents reported favorably to the ads with the cross. These results suggest the Christian cross serves not only as a peripheral cue but also as a central part of the persuasive message in health advertisements.