Mothers in a shopping centre were asked to rank messages for persuasiveness. The messages chosen concerned the fat in chips, salt in soups, sugar in soft drinks and dietary fibre in bread. They were written in a combination of styles, for example, a technical statement that was positive and guilt‐evoking or a non‐technical statement that was negative and non‐guilt‐evoking. There were eight messages for each food, arranged in a Latin square, to avoid bias. It was concluded that the percBived persuasiveness was enhanced by positive, and reduced by, technical language. The use of guilt‐evoking ideas regarding mothers responsibility to family health did not influence the overall persuasiveness of the