Narrative Engagement and Cultural Resonance: Examining Spokesperson Messaging in the “Get Real About Diabetes” Campaign Targeting African American Audiences

This study examines how narrative and humor function within the "Get Real About Diabetes<i>"</i> health communication campaign, which features spokesperson messaging by actor Anthony Anderson. Guided by Miller-Day and Hecht's Narrative Engagement Framework and Foss's rhetorical criticism, we conducted a narrative and rhetorical analysis of 19 media artifacts to examine how culturally tailored storytelling strategies engage African American audiences in diabetes awareness and self-management. The analysis reveals recurring persuasive features -including testimonial narrative, cultural symbolism, and humor - as key mechanisms for enhancing audience identification, emotional engagement, and cultural message resonant. Findings indicate that narratives not only contribute to raising diabetes awareness but also reframe diabetes management discourse as an empowering and culturally significant endeavor. This study contributes to the growing body of scholarship on culturally grounded health communication, demonstrating the value of integrating narrative and rhetorical frameworks to design more engaging, resonant public campaigns.