Alcohol and Cigarette Advertising on Billboards: Targeting With Social Cues

Abstract This study reports an analysis of 901 billboards in San Francisco, California. The study examines how billboard advertising of alcohol and tobacco products uses the social aspects of smoking and drinking to promote positive product attributes. We suggest that the modeling of social cues can serve to motivate product use, disinhibit behavioral restraints, and reinforce existing habits. The data suggest that alcohol and cigarette advertisements are more likely than ads for other products to depict people, use models of the same race as the audience, use social modeling cues such as anticipated rewards, and make use of attractive models. This understanding of social influence and modeling on billboards can provide health professionals with informa- tion regarding the strategies of alcohol and tobacco advertisers that has important implications for prevention and cessation interventions.