Can movie theater advertisements promote health behaviors? Evaluation of a flu vaccination pilot campaign.

ABSTRACT

As part of a multimedia campaign to promote annual influenza vaccination, three slides were shown as part of the slide show of advertisements prior to the beginning of previews in movie theaters in San Diego County. Intercept surveys were conducted following the movie. The primary target groups for the campaign were adults with children 6 months to 2 years of age and adults over 50 years of age. Overall, 88% of exposed patrons reported seeing some type of movie ad. Among those who recalled any ad, 24% recalled the flu advertisement. In contrast, recall of flu-related news coverage was high, with over 95% of exposed and comparison interviewees recalling news stories during the campaign period. While 56% of those interviewed remembered one or more specific flu-related news items, individuals within this group who also had also been exposed to the movie ads were not more likely to recall flu campaign advertisements. We describe a method for estimating valid recalls and cost per valid exposure. Further research that compares movie ads with public service announcements (PSAs) in other venues is necessary to solidify our conclusions that movie advertising is a highly cost-effective medium for health communication.