Witte's Extended Parallel Processing Model addresses the effectiveness of fear appeals and the subsequent reactions people have to these certain messages. A fear appeal is effective if it successfully generates the emotion of fear within a person. Not all fear appeals are successful, however. Some contain too great a threat, and some contain too little threat. These appeals can be simple threats from a friend or teacher or a commercial, television or magazine ad. The effectiveness of a fear appeal is greater if one perceives that they are directly susceptible to the perceived threat. .
With the recent rise in the use of the drug ecstasy among young adults, this original commercial would be effective in generating fear within this group of people. A group of teenagers are getting ready to go out to what appears to be a club. The scenes flash back and forth to different girls putting on makeup and skimpy clothes. It is apparent that they are preparing to go to a rave. One of the girls smiles and takes out a plastic bag with a number of white pills in it. All of the other girls gather around her while the holder of the pills allots each girl 2 pills. They all take them willingly and smile. The next scene shows the girls dancing and having a good time at a club. The lights are intense and the crowd keeps thickening. Suddenly, the camera zooms in on one of the girls and starts spinning circles around her, illustrating that she is dizzy and loosing consciousness. Her feeble attempts to grab her friends for help are brushed off. She falls on the ground and is swallowed up by dancing ravers. The camera focuses in on the girl being trampled underneath the shoes of the other club patrons. Despite her attempts to get someone's attention, she is not heard. The camera fades to black although the music and laughter can still be heard. The next scene shows the girl on the ground, completely disheveled and unconscious.