Health-Related Advertising: Leveraging Virtual and Human Influencers to Encourage Health Behaviors
基于解释水平理论，研究了虚拟与人类影响者配对不同健康行为类型（疾病预防vs检测）的效果，发现虚拟影响者提升自我效能，人类影响者减少恐惧，从而促进求助意愿。
Previous studies have explored the importance of health-related advertising; however, effective social media advertising strategies for promoting health behaviors remain poorly understood. Grounded in construal level theory, the current study examines the impact of influencer types (virtual vs. human) on health behavior types (illness prevention vs. illness detection). The results indicate that pairing virtual (human) influencers with illness prevention (illness detection) enhances the effectiveness of health promotion (Studies 1 and 2). This effect is driven by increased self-efficacy and reduced fear. Specifically, in the condition of illness prevention, virtual influencers are found to be more effective in increasing individuals’ self-efficacy and, consequently, help-seeking intention. However, in the illness-detection condition, human influencers proved to be more successful in reducing fear, which subsequently improved help-seeking intention (Study 3). This study enriches the literature on health-related advertising, influencer marketing, and construal level theory, offering governments, health organizations, and enterprises valuable guidance on using virtual influencers for successful health-related advertising.