Do shame-based anti-drinking ads backfire?

A study on the effectiveness of anti-binge-drinking ads has found, irony of ironies, that they might hurt more often than they help. Consumer psychologists Nidhi Agrawal and Adam Duhachek have found that advisories that focus on shaming binge drinkers often spur defensiveness and indignation rather than remorse in their intended audience. The study's centerpiece was a print ad from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario showing a young woman doing the Big Spit into a toilet on prom night.