Health Warnings Can Boost Sales: Regulators Beware

Research conducted by The Faculty of Management at Tel Aviv University, INSEAD Singapore, and the Leonard N. Stern School of Business in New York found that health warnings in advertisements could backfire over time, leading to increased consumer confidence and product sales. The study involved four experiments with products like cigarettes, artificial sweeteners, erectile dysfunction medication, and hair loss treatments, where participants were exposed to ads with and without warnings. Results showed that while warnings reduced product appeal in the short term, they increased consumption in the long term due to the 'ironic effect' explained by construal-level theory. This theory suggests that temporal distance leads consumers to focus on abstract benefits rather than concrete risks. The findings indicated that regulators might need to reconsider how warnings are tested and implemented, as the delayed effects of warnings are inconsistent with ethical marketing practices.