ALCOHOL AND CIGARETTE ADVERTISING ON BILLBOARDS - TARGETING WITH SOCIAL CUES

This study reports an analysis of 901 billboards in San Francisco, Cal ifornia. The study examines how billboard advertising of alcohol and t obacco products uses the social aspects of smoking and drinking to pro mote positive product attributes. We suggest that the modeling of soci al cues can serve to motivate product use, disinhibit behavioral restr aints, and reinforce existing habits. The data suggest that alcohol an d cigarette advertisements are more likely than ads for other products to depict people, use models of the same race as the audience, use so cial modeling cues such as anticipated rewards, and make use of attrac tive models. This understanding of social influence and modeling on bi llboards can provide health professionals with information regarding t he strategies of alcohol and tobacco advertisers that has important im plications for prevention and cessation interventions.