The Inoculating Effect of Generic Advertising: Can Consumers' Concerns About Mad Cow Disease Be Reduced by Advertising?

Abstract

Consumers have consistently expressed concern about the risk of being afflicted with new Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (frequently referred to as Mad Cow Disease) by eating beef. Given the recent discover of cows in the United States that tested positive for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and the recent scientific statement that the path of this lethal disease remains unknown, the beef industry continues to have this potentially devastating food scare problem loom in the future. This research uses experimental economic techniques to demonstrate that risk concerns regarding Mad Cow Disease are easily induced with media information and finds that current beef industry adverting does a surprisingly good job at alleviating consumer food scare concerns.

Keywords: food scares, advertising, mad cow disease, creutzfeldt-jakob disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, consumer behavior, information, health awareness