Campaign-induced interpersonal communication following exposure to strong and weak persuasive messages

Media campaigns can create change in their audiences directly via message exposure and indirectly via conversations about the campaign. An experiment (N = 232) exposed regular consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages to either strong or weak messages that advocated reduced consumption, then allowed conversation or did not. There was evidence of direct media effects in that heavy drinkers who privately judged the messages as effective reported higher intended consumption reduction. However, when conversation was allowed, it erased the desired effect of campaign messages on intended reduction. Heavy drinkers had less favorable conversations about strong campaign messages than weak ones. Further, analytic language (e.g., but, because) augmented the persuasiveness of strong messages among heavy drinkers, but detracted from the persuasiveness of weak messages. Thus, we observed a complex interplay between intrapersonal processes devoted to the accurate assessment of campaign messages and interpersonal processes that defended existing levels of sugary beverage consumption.