Issue advertising is intended to inform an audience--most commonly with the intent of changing unfavorable opinions or reinforcing favorable ones--to affect cognition (in contrast to the behavioral emphasis of product and service advertising, intended to stimulate trail and adoption). To explore public reactions to printed and televised issues advertising, a study looked into reactions of university students to the current campaign sponsored by the United States Committee for Energy Awareness (USCEA). Seventy-four female and 42 male students, divided into four groups, were exposed to a magazine advertisement and three 30-second television advertisements on issues related to energy. One group served as control, one read the printed ad, one saw the videotapes, and one both viewed the tape and read the ad. All then responded to a questionnaire indicating their support/opposition to nuclear energy. Analysis of their answers suggests that, in some regards, issues advertisements influence opponents of public policy more than they influence supporters. Supporters of nuclear energy simply continued their beliefs and arguments for it, while opponents generated an increased number of arguments against nuclear energy (not by refuting the advertisements' claims, but by stressing other issues). These effects were most pronounced among those who saw the videos, which suggests that issue advertisement effects may vary both across and within forms of media. (Twenty-six references and a table of results are appended.) (SKC)