The Baby is Sick/The Baby is Well: A Test of Environmental Communication Appeals

Abstract

The “sick baby” appeal is a common basis for communications in social marketing. The sick baby appeal focuses on the importance of the issue and the severity of the need for help. Ellen et al. (1991) and Fine (1990) proposed that, when concern is already high, a sick baby appeal may reduce perceived consumer effectiveness. They suggested an alternative approach, a “well baby” appeal, which would stress the significance of individual action. Two experiments supported the hypothesis that the effectiveness of these appeals depends on the relative salience of the issue. Further, the results generally supported the proposed processes by which the appeals operate—mediation of perceived concern and perceived consumer effectiveness.