Understanding Graphic Pictorial Warnings in Advertising: A Replication and Extension

While widely considered an effective resource for communicating the risks associated with cigarette smoking, the range of effects associated with graphic pictorial warnings remains underresearched. The authors use an advertising context to replicate and extend findings of Kees and colleagues' (2010) study of the direct and indirect effects of graphic pictorial cigarette warnings. Across three studies, moderate and high graphic warnings are shown to have favorable effects on smoking cessation outcomes, a positive effect on attention to the ad, and a negative indirect effect on brand purchase intentions, relative to text-only or low graphic pictorial warnings. Evoked fear is confirmed as a primary mediating mechanism underlying effects. However, these results indicate that the high graphic level warning examined does not produce significantly stronger effects than a moderate warning. Implications are offered for researchers interested in countervailing persuasive messages in advertising and recent U.S. liti...