Black letters appear on the screen that read, "THIS IS HOW MUCH FUN ECSTASY IS." .
This appeal is directed at a very select group of people. Although this group of people may seem small, there is a large underground group of people that use ecstasy frequently and in large doses. These incidents do not get much publicity, but occur more frequently than is thought by the general public. The point of this commercial would be to raise the awareness among parents and disciplinarians about the increased usage of ecstasy among young adults and to scare those that do use the drug to think twice about using it. .
According to Witte's EPPM, there are three ways that people would respond to this commercial. If one who views this commercial has never been exposed to ecstasy or that drug culture, they may brush it off as having no effect on them directly. It then goes to the back of that person's mind with the rest of the commercials or fear appeals that have had no effect because of their lack of susceptibility. Witte says that if one feels that they are not prone to this type of threat, they will have no response to it. .
The second response Witte addresses results from a person relating to and understanding the perceived threat. Perhaps this is the person who goes out to raves frequently and takes ecstasy. This person accepts the message as having some sort of relevance to their life. They then modify their behavior, or change their attitude, or intention. This is the epitome of what an effective fear appeal should do. It should elucidate a threat, relevant to a person and generate within that person a great deal of fear regarding that particular aspect of their life. That fear, in turn, encourages the person to make some sort of change in their behaviors, attitudes, or intentions in order to avoid this possible outcome. .
The third response results when a person realizes that the perceived threat of this fear appeal is extremely relevant to their life.