A CONTENT-ANALYSIS OF GUILT APPEALS IN POPULAR MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENTS

The authors document advertisers' application of guilt appeals as a me thod of influence. A content analysis of guilt advertisements in 24 ma gazines reveals that (I) guilt appeals appear in advertising at a leve l comparable to that of other appeals (e.g., humor, sexual, and compar isons), (2) guilt appeals appear in every magazine type, but are most common in news and general editorial magazines, (3) the majority of gu ilt ads have anticipatory guilt appeals, (4) the single most common gu ilt statement is the statement of fact, (5) guilt is typically employe d in the ad copy or in both the copy and visual images, and (6) guilt appeals appear most often in ads for charities and health-related prod ucts. Implications of the content analysis are considered and research directions outlined.