Guilt-Based Anti-Alcohol Ads Can Backfire, Study Finds

Using shame or guilt to try to prevent overconsumption of alcohol can actually cause people to drink more, researchers say.

Researcher Adam Duhachek of the Indiana Kelley School of Business and colleagues said that ads that link alcohol abuse to negative consequences like blackouts and automobile crashes in order to elicit feelings of shame or guilt can trigger a defensive coping mechanism. This can lead viewers to believe that bad things related to drinking can only happen to others and can actually increase irresponsible drinking, researchers said.

“The public health and marketing communities expend considerable effort and capital on these campaigns but have long suspected they were less effective than hoped,” said Duhachek. “But the situation is worse than wasted money or effort. These ads ultimately may do more harm than good because they have the potential to spur more of the behavior they're trying to prevent.”

A better approach might be to educate the public about the negatives associated with drinking but link that message to one of empowerment, said Duhachek. “If you're going to communicate a frightening scenario, temper it with the idea that it's avoidable,” he said.

The study will be published in the Journal of Marketing Research (PDF of forthcoming article).