Enhancing effectiveness of public service advertisements: the role of mortality salience and negative message framing

Purpose This research addresses a gap in the literature that encourages more inquiries to enhance the effectiveness of negative public service advertisements (PSAs). Design/methodology/approach The research engages two laboratory experiments (N = 179 and N = 219) and a field study (N = 216) to test our hypotheses. Findings Under mortality salience, negatively (vs positively) framed messages were found to be more effective in encouraging positive health compliant behaviours (follow covid safety rules, flu vaccination intention) and this effect was mediated by message effectiveness. Practical implications Policy makers at various levels (local, state and federal government) should consider the strategies discussed in this study to make PSAs more effective. Originality/value The current study makes significant original contributions to theories of PSAs and negative framing.