ELM, warning labels, product form(s), unmentionable subjects ads, mobile advertising: Scope for future research and testing alternate scenarios

This issue publishes five papers. The first paper by Hedli and Zourigg compares and contrasts – somewhat confrontationally, two models relating to attitudinal change and persuasion – the much-cited Elaboration Likelihood Model and the Unimodel. Both – alas – suffer from conceptual and empirical limitations. The question of whether attitudinal change is better explained by a dual or single process is tackled via a robust, detailed and though-provoking polemic. In the end, the authors conclude in favor of the ELM as the major contribution in the field. That said, I and indeed the literature await a robust defense of the elaboration likelihood model, and specifically one that underpins empirically the notion of a dual explanation as to how persuasion does occur in a modern context. Watch this space. Phua and Lim focus on the somewhat dubious modern practice of advertising electronic cigarette brands via social media leading to apparently ‘reduced risk’, ‘heathier and regular’ and ‘quit smoking using e-cigarettes’ via a well-developed series of experimental situations. Use of warning labels together with celebrity endorsements via social media seems to ameliorate to some degree the potential effects of positive advertising claims. As with the first paper, the door of future research is left well open in terms of the role of regulatory agencies and their role. It would be interesting for some future authors to tackle the subject of whether these points are mooted somewhat in the face of ongoing huge revenues to government in terms of tax returns. Thus, an outright ban on smoking either of traditional or e-cigarettes is most unlikely despite significant health care costs for smokers in later life. The paper by Amirkhizi, Pouralebi and Anzabi tackles a fairly unusual subject in marketing communication terms – that of visual form – to help designers and analysts design products to suit user formal preferences in different cultural contexts. As may well be anticipated different cultures produce differing feelings and reactions with regard to product forms and would appear to offer significant promise for designers to take consumer or user perceptions into considering when designing products and indeed packaging. Whether this is economically feasible or not remains to be seen. It would be interesting to see examples of product manufacturers and indeed package makers to experiment with form relative to product purchase. Yoon, Kim and Choi tackle tackle one of what used to be an almost unmentionable subject in marketing and marketing communication terms, in terms of how to educate adults who are infected with HPV to seek out prevention and treatment, rather than suffering with an illness, or worse – infecting others. Vaccination is the easiest, but many citizens in today’s world remain unvaccinated. As is evidenced her humor, STD JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 2023, VOL. 29, NO. 5, 431–432 https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2023.2223808