Investigating emotional advertising: Fear mixed with challenge appeal and its influence on information processing modes and behavioural intentions

The majority of appeals used in advertising aim to generate emotional responses from the consumers based on the fact that emotions are considered "the gatekeepers" for further cognitive and behavioral reactions. Mixed emotions are emotional states defined by both positive and negative emotions experienced jointly. Current study stipulates that fear mixed with challenge, acts as a conditioning stimulus on a systematic mode and depth of information processing, indirectly impacting on attitudes towards advertisement and help-seeking behavioral intentions. Challenge bolsters cognitive activity and engenders information intake, whereas fear serves the purpose of attention generation and accentuates self-protection, thus, driving the consumers to process advertisement systematically and in-depth which is essential in social marketing contexts. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data from 228 respondents exposed to fear mixed with challenge social marketing appeal. Both measurement model (RMSEA=0.050, 90% CI: 0.033; 0.065, close-test p value "-0.497, CFl-""-0.976, TLI=0.969, SRMSR=0.040) and structural model (RMSEA=0.055, 90% CI: 0.040; 0.069, close-test p value=0.272, CFl- 0.969, TLI-:.:0.961, SRMSR=0.069) fit data well. Co-elicited fear (~=0.253, p=0.003) and challenge (~- 0.234, p.:.0.008) positively impact on systematic mode and depth of information processing, which in turn positively influence attitude towards advertisement (~=-0.646, p"'0.000). The final outcome variable of help-seeking behavioral intentions is strongly influenced by attitudes towards advertisement (~- 0.728, p...-0.000). If heuristically processed, neither fear (~:0.030, p=0.637), nor challenge (~,:0.074, p~0.221) influence consumers' behavioral intentions. These findings support the role of mixed emotional appeals such as fear mixed with challenge as an effective approach in social marketing communication.