In our recent article, we highlight an alarming lack of empirical evidence to justify the widespread promotion of optimistic message frames within conservation. As McAfee and Connell rightly point out, whether to focus on positive or negative frames is but one of many considerations when constructing a message. In their response, McAfee and Connell outline important theoretical literature from other disciplines that provides a great basis for research within conservation science. However, they do not identify any examples from within conservation, which was the crux of our piece: there is a lack of conservation-specific evidence for designing strategic messages.