Explanation of Messages - Peripheral & Central Route Processing

• Message #1: Uses a fear-inducing message. It explains all of the negative consequences that can occur as a result of binge drinking. The negative consequences (such as possible car accidents, health risks, loss of license, etc.) are likely to occur if the individual does not drink responsibly. If an individual does not engage in binge drinking, it is likely that the negative consequences will not occur. There are also specific steps that can be followed, such as setting a limit of how many drinks you will have in one night, not playing drinking games (a form of binge drinking), which is likely to make a person drink more than they normally would.
• Message #2: Uses a simple message, paired with distractors in order to induce peripheral route processing. Peripheral route processing is when an individual barely thinks about the message and makes a snap decision. One way of achieving this is by using distractors. In our message, we decided to use several pictures of car crashes in order to distract the viewer and used the simple message of "Don't Binge Drink." This makes the viewer really pay attention to the images and jsut simply accept the message for what it is.
• Message #3: Uses a complex, two-sided message in order to appeal to central route processing. Central route processing involves thinking a lot about the message and then making a decision. We decided to use common myths about binge drinking (one side) and then disprove the myths (the other side). This will force the person to think about the message a lot, because it is probably things that they have been told in the past and believed to be true and finding out that they are not will hopefully make them look at binge drinking differently.

The Truth About College Drinking

The Truth About College Drinking

Though it may seem like drinking is the most prevalent activity among college students from day one, if you take a look around at a party everyone may not be as drunk and out of control as you think. The only people who are out of control wasted are the small majority and are hurting themselves and others. The truth is no matter what anyone says to you, out of control binge drinking on college campuses is not all its cracked up to be...

What some of your friends might say:

"Everyone drinks heavily at parties so they can relax and hang out."

REALITY: Though many people use alcohol to help loosen them up in social situations, if you'd stop drinking for a second to take a closer look, you'd realize that most people are not drinking heavily. There are only a few people who really get trashed at parties, lose control, embarrass themselves, or endanger their lives.

Solution: Why binge drink? If you are of legal age and in college drinking responsibly can help make social situations more fun but don't risk lives and embarrassment by going too far!

"I'm having as much fun as I can while I'm in college. As soon as I graduate I'll get my act together."

REALITY: If you want to succeed in the real world think about this, your liver and alcoholism don't know when you graduate! Drinking and hangovers can keep you from going to class, studying or even getting involved in carreer oriented clubs or internships that could help you in the future. Your GPA still counts and companies and graduate schools will definitely be looking at it. Is drinking really worth losing out on a great job or opportunity?

Solution: Drinking enough to impede your future is just dumb! Be smart, you are at school for a reason and there is no reason you can't drink responsibly! Try getting a good internship instead of another 6 pack.

"I'm more fun when I drink."

REALITY: Do you like taking care of someone who is throwing up on you, slurring their speech, falling all over the place and keeping you up all night? Believe us, neither do any of the other thousands of college students around the country! There is a big difference between laughing with someone and laughing at someone. Do you really want to be someone's entertainment?

Solution: Don't act the fool! You are not more fun when you are drinking heavily, just more fun to make fun of. Be smart, don't binge drink and you won't end up the butt of everyones jokes.

Animation message

Effective Fear Inducing Message w/

BINGE DRINKING ON CAMPUS:

IS THIS WHERE YOU WANT TO END UP AT THE END OF THE NIGHT?

The above picture is a real life scenario which millions of college students go through each year.

Do you want this to be you? No one enjoys hovering over a toilet seat (especially a college dorm toilet) or ending

up in the hosital to get a tube stuck down your throat, in order to have your stomach pumped, due to alcohol abuse.

1. Alcohol abuse, or "binge drinking," will result in nothing but real-life negative consequences in your life, such as the following: serious injuries from auto injuires, arrest for DUI/OUI, loss of license, loss of employment, loss of respect, loss of close relationships with friends and family members, loss of independence/freedom, expensive fees associated lawyer's fees, cout fees,

mandatory alcohol abuse classes, public transportation fees, etc.

2. It is very likely that you will face negative results due to binge drinking on campus if you don't adapt the following behaviors: assigning a designated driver and not drinking and driving, controlling your drinking habits by only drinking to the limit that your body will allow, drinking to a reasonable limit so you wont lose relationships with significant others (see ad below)

"LIPS THAT TOUCH LIQUOR SHALL NOT TOUCH OURS"

If you want to keep that special woman in your life, then you should stay away from alcohol...because it harms not only yourself, but all of those around you.

3. If you dont't binge drink, it is very likely that you will not experience any of the above mentioned results. Instead you will live a furfilling life full of positive consequences.

4. There are several steps you can follow to avoid this behavior and they are the following:

-Joining some sort club/group on campus which will help keep away from the pressure to binge drink;

-Don't play drinking games (beer pong, flip cups, card games, etc); and

-Set a limit for how many drinks you are going to have.

Explanation of Messages - Conditioning & Source Credibility

• Message #1: Uses classical conditioning, which is repeatedly pairing a new stimulus with a stimulus that already reduces a response, in order for the new stimulus to produce a similar response. We did this by pairing Brad Pitt (an attractive celebrity) with the message that he is successful because he does not binge drink; therefore if an individual does not binge drink, they will also be successful.
• Message#2: Also uses classical conditioning by pairing a dog (which is something that most people like and have as a pet) with the idea that binge drinking could potentially harm your pets.
• Message#3: Uses intensity, which is the idea that the more perceptually intense a message is, the stronger the effect will be. To promote intensity, we decided to portray the message that each year, thousands of children lose a sibling to drunk driving, which is often caused by binge drinking. The message also shows a picture of several children to help the person viewing the message picture exactly the intensity of the message.
• Message #4: Uses repetition, which is the idea that the more frequently we see an ad pairing a product with something positive, the stronger the pairing will be in our minds. Therefore, in our message we repeatedly used the word friend in order to promote the idea that if you love your friend you shouldn't binge drink.
• Message #5: Uses subliminal persuasion, or messages that are too subtle to notice and shows an image of bottles of alcohol, with the words "Don't Binge Drink" subtly placed within the image.
• Message #6: Uses a credible communicator, because the charactertistics of the source affect how much it will persuade a person. Therefore, we decided to use Dr. Phil to explain the effects of binge drinking, because he is a "doctor" who many people see as credible and many people also trust his advice. He also has expertise on many topics, including binge drinking.
• Message #7: Again uses a credible communicator. In this case we decided to use Lane Garrison, an actor on Prison Break, because he was involved in an incident in which he drove drunk, bought alcohol for minors, and ended up killing a young person because of being drunk. Therefore, he is someone who has "expertise," because he has first-hand experience of the possible negative effects and consequences of drinking irresponsibly.

Subliminal Messages

Prison Break star Lane Garrison - Lives Ruined by Drunk Driving

Prison Break actor Lane Garrison was charged with vehicular manslaughter in the December death of 17-year-old boy. On Dec. 2, the actor was driving his Land Rover SUV with three teenage passengers when the vehicle struck a tree, killing passenger Vahagn Setian. There were also two 15-year-old girls in the car - one is recuperating at home with a fractured pelvis and shattered arm and the other was not seriously injured. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine, Garrison said, "I pray every day for all the families involved," and "I realize I will live with a sense of guilt for the rest of my life."

Police later said Garrison had more than twice the legal blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash.

Garrison recoded a powerful and graphic public service announcement with the hopes of preventing people from driving drunk. The PSA includes realistic footage of a drunk driving accident and clips of Garrison's emotional plea.

Garrison's message is:

"Just don't drink and drive, it's not worth it, it's just not worth it."

Many drunk driving accidents are a result of binge drinking.

SAVE A LIFE. THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK.

To see Garrison's PSA, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPhIEyQ52og