Download The Effects of Food Advertisement on Children

Brown 1
Brian Brown
English 017
Dr. Robert Murdock
7 November 2013
The Effects of Food Advertisement on Children
Food is a subject that impacts the lives of every person in the world, without it life would
not be sustainable. The way that food is presented around the world also impacts the way that
human beings consume it. Fast food and snack food corporations have a way of presenting food
in a manner that makes people want to consume many things that may not be the healthiest
options. Food corporations do this through advertisements and gimmicks, many of which can be
seen on television. More specifically these ads are viewed by children, and often marketed
towards children to make them want to eat the products that they see on television. These ads
often affect the way that children eat in a negative way. “Childhood obesity is a major public
health problem in the United States and in many other areas of the world (Anderson & Butcher,
2006), yet children are heavily targeted with marketing for foods high in sugar, fat, calories, and
sodium and low in nutritional value (Linn, 2004 and Palmer and Carpenter, 2006)” (Depiction of
Food as Having Drug Like Properties in Televised Food Advertisements Directed at Children:
Portrayals as Pleasure Enhancing and Addictive). The ads that children see on television can be
linked with childhood obesity because these ads are specifically aimed towards children, when
viewed, these advertisements makes them want to consume products that are unhealthy because
of the specific tactics that are used. “TV remains the primary venue for reaching children with
marketing messages, especially younger children (Roberts, Foehr, & Rideout, 2005)” (Depiction
of Food). If more measures were taken to reduce the number of ads that target specifically target
Brown 2
children, then the number of children that are unhealthy or obese would greatly be reduced. In
addition to this children would not be conditioned to see food in the ways that it is portrayed in
advertisements.
There are a number of different ways that unhealthy food is depicted in advertisements that
are specifically targeted towards children. Advertisers use these methods in a ways that capture
the specific interests of children, such as cartoon characters, fantasy, including toys with the
purchase of meals, and countless other methods. The tactics that are used in advertisements for
unhealthy food are what make many children want to consume said food products, and they have
been proven to work. A key theme that is used in advertisements for fast food and other not so
healthy foods is the use of fantasy. “Children have a propensity toward fantasy; they enjoy
fantasy (Wooley 1997); and they may not possess, access, or invoke persuasion knowledge in
response to fantasy-based executions” (Fantasy in Food Advertising Targeted at Children). In
other words, When Children see fantasy in certain advertisements for food, they may not be able
to understand that they are actually being persuaded to consume the actual food product itself.
When food advertisements contain certain fantasy elements it is a way for food corporations to
manipulate children into consuming their unhealthy products. “Taste and mood alteration are the
most frequently used appeals (Warren et al. 2007, 2008), along with cues of physical strength
and appeals to fun (Folta et al. 2006)” (Fantasy in Food Advertising Targeted at Children). When
children see examples of strength or having a good time, it can cause them to want to consume
the products, which is an example of how advertisements can have a negative effect on young
minds. Advertisements also use tactics that are more rational in nature which focus on the
product packaging, taste as well as the flavor that a particular product has (Fantasy in Food
Advertising Targeted at Children). Advertisements can also have emotional elements to them,
Brown 3
such as action, adventure, visual appeal, animations, magic, as well as a number of other
elements (Fantasy in Food Advertising Targeted at Children). When a child sees something that
is visually appealing, and invokes interest, they will want to consume the product because they
believe that they will gain something from doing so. “Adventure and animal appeals combined
with animation frequently enhance, evoke, or create a hyper reality, fantasy-oriented world
designed to draw children into the action and associate the product with positive emotions”
(Fantasy in Food Advertising Targeted at Children). When a child sees an adventure in a food
advertisement they will immediately associate that food with something that interests them
causing them to feel a positive reaction toward the product. When food advertisements employ
themes of fantasy and adventure they cause children to be negatively affected because they will
feel the need to consume the unhealthy products that are being advertised.
In addition to the use of fantasy elements in advertisements, food corporations may also use
the appeal to pleasure. “It is interesting that most advertisements for food products marketed to
children are cleverly constructed to get the young viewers to have an emotional association with
the foods, with little to no mention of actual product qualities (Buijzen and Valkenburg, 2002,
Institute of Medicine, 2006 and Kunkel and Gantz, 1992)” (Depiction of Food). If an
advertisement had an emotional appeal then children will be less likely to focus on the food, but
rather the appeals used in the advertisements. If a child sees something that causes them pleasure
they will likely be interested in the emotional appeal causing them to want to consume the
product being advertised no matter how healthy or unhealthy it is. Unfortunately, many
advertisements that feature emotional appeals as well as other appeals are for foods that are not
so healthy.
Brown 4
Another strategy that is used by food corporations is the appeal of food as a form of
entertainment. “We are obviously being conditioned to look at food as an entertainment”
(Alkharfy). Many of the tactics used in advertisements are entertaining to the children that are
viewing them, furthering the manipulation that is used on children by fast food and snack food
companies. For instance if a child sees an advertisement for McDonalds, they may associate the
food with an establishment where they can play and have fun all while eating food that is not the
healthiest for a child to be consuming. Certain fast food places also offer toys with their meals
that are specifically geared towards children. “Children do not easily discern between products
like toys and games that are associated with a company’s primary products—in this case, fast
food. That means that the toys may actually hold more allure for younger consumers than the
food itself” (Sifferlin). Giving away a toy with a meal is something that would for the most part,
appeal to a child. When a child sees an advertisement for a meal that includes a toy, their natural
response would be that they have to have it. Promoting toys with meals is a way for fast food
companies to reel in children to consume their products. “Researchers found that McDonalds and
Burger King were responsible for nearly all of the ads for children’s meals, and that 69 percent
of those ads featured toy giveaways and 55 percent included movie tie ins” (Fast Food
Television Ads Use Toys, Movies to Target Kids). This further supports that fast food companies
are taking advantage of children when they are promoting their advertisements. Often time’s
children will want to go to Burger King or McDonalds because of an advertisement that they see
on television that is promoting the latest toy or gadget. Television advertisements for fast food
that are aimed at children are often times strategically placed on channels that are predominately
viewed by children. “Seventy-nine percent of the fast food ads aimed at kids aired on only four
channels: Cartoon Network (32.3%), Nickelodeon (18.3%), Disney XD (16.2%), and Nicktoons
Brown 5
(12.4%)” (Fast Food Television Ads Use Toys, Movies to Target Kids). If fast food companies
reduced the amount of advertisements on channels watched predominately by children, then that
would reduce the amount of exposure they have to unhealthy foods.
When children are exposed to a large amount of advertisements for food that is
unhealthy, they are going to be affected in multiple ways. The different tactics and trickery that
is used in food advertisements are specifically designed to have some sort of effect on the
children that are viewing them. Children, from a very early age see food in advertisements and
do not generally associate these foods with health problems that they may face down the road.
“Research shows that when companies are promoting brand-oriented messages to children, [kids]
make very long lasting and deeply emotional connections to the brand” (Sifferlin). Children will
tend to associate the food that they see in certain advertisements as something that they enjoy,
and if the food product that the child sees is unhealthy it will generally not be a concern. “So this
form of marketing allows kids to make lifelong brand preferences at a very early age” (Sifferlin).
If a child is conditioned to want to eat unhealthy food products at an early age, chances are that
child will want to make the same choices later on in life, which could only add to health
problems that they could face from eating fast food as well as other types of unhealthy food. Fast
food advertisements have numerous effects on children one of those effects being that children
are conditioned to eat food that they see in flashy advertisements on television or other
entertainment sources. A more serious concern that can be a result from actually consuming the
food that is viewed in advertisements is the problem of obesity. It can be said that one of the
major contributors to childhood obesity around the world is the advertisements for unhealthy
food that children are bombarded with. If children weren’t so conditioned to eat unhealthy
snacks and fast food, then the problem of obesity could be greatly reduced all around the world.
Brown 6
“The National Institute of Health (NIH) conducted a large study to directly tie childhood
obesity to fast-food advertising on American television, based on the viewing habits of 13000
children between 1979 and 1997. The study concluded that a ban on fast-food advertising to
children would cut the US obesity rate by as much as 18%” (Alkharfy). In addition to reducing
the number of children that are obese, the number of overweight teenagers could also be
decreased by as much as 14 percent, if advertisements didn’t play such a large role in food
choices (Rabin). According to this information advertisements do play a large role in the diets of
children. If steps were taken to reduce or get rid of advertisements for unhealthy food products,
then a positive result could be found relating to the number of children who are obese in the
United States. Unfortunately it would take a large movement for any progress to be made in this
area. Food advertisements have continued to affect the minds of children in negative ways
causing them to want to consume food products that could potentially cause obesity. “The
American Psychological Association Task Force on Advertising and Children (Kunkel et al.
2004) finds that children under the age of eight do not possess sufficient cognitive ability to
understand the persuasive intent of advertising” (Fantasy In Food Advertising Targeted At
Children). When children view food advertisements the only thing that they are concerned with
is the food itself, a child is generally not going to be concerned with the effects that consuming
unhealthy food could have on them. One of the largest concerns of children viewing fast food
advertisements is that these advertisements cause children to want to consume the products, and
if a child is used to eating a certain product that is unhealthy for them, it will cause them to face
the negative effects that it has on their health. It is found that the obesity rate in children is a
direct result of children viewing advertisements for unhealthy food during television
programming (Rabin).
Brown 7
Numerous research has been done as well as studies to show a direct relation between
advertising of unhealthy foods to children and the health problems that children face from eating
the food that is advertised. Obesity is one of the more common health concerns that can be
directly related to consumption of fast food. “Rates of childhood obesity have tripled in the past
30 years, and food marketing has been implicated as one factor contributing to this trend. Every
year, companies spend more than $10 billion in the US marketing their food and beverages to
children” (Obesity; Obese children more vulnerable to food advertising). If there wasn’t billions
of dollars spent on food advertising then the childhood obesity problem that is faced by children
around the world would not be as large as it is. It is also a fact that children under the age of 12
see over five thousand food advertisements in a year (Watching Children Watch Food
Advertisements on TV). These numbers are alarming considering the fact that they have to deal
with the health of children. If more focus was spent on advertising for healthier alternatives, then
the number of children who are considered obese would be significantly reduced.
A study that was approved by the Tufts University Institutional Review Board was
conducted to show the way that children respond to certain food advertisements (Watching
Children Watch Food Advertisements on TV). In this study, thirteen children were broken into
groups of two to four children. Children were then shown four different advertisements that were
marketed toward the children of that age group. “Many children’s first reaction was that if they
ate the advertised product, they would be able to imitate the characters they saw” (Watching
Children Watch Food Advertisements On TV). This study clearly showed that children are
targeted in advertisements to consume products that could eventually cause them to be
considered obese or overweight. Another important fact to consider is “between 1994 and 2004,
the rate of increase in the introduction of new food and beverage products targeted to children
Brown 8
and youth substantially outpaced those targeting the total market” (Depiction of Food). With
food advertising being a cause of childhood obesity, this much focus should not be put into
advertisements that appeal to young children. Food advertisement that is marketed specifically
towards children causes them to want to eat unhealthy foods that are being promoted which can
only further the problem that already exists, that being the large number of children that are
obese an overweight because of the unhealthy food that they are exposed to from an early age.
“Food advertising can directly trigger food consumption upon exposure as well as influence
social norms relating to food consumption” (The Use of Negative Themes in television food
Advertising). Food advertising specifically promotes unhealthy food to children as something
that is positive, even though it is proven to cause children to face health problems such as obesity
if consumed on a regular basis. “The themes employed to promote food products are important
because, along with the frequency of exposure to food advertisements, they have the potential to
normalize certain patterns of food consumption by influencing perceptions of what foods are
normal to eat and in what quantities (Grier et al., 2007)” (The Use of Negative Themes in
Television Food Advertising). If a child has more exposure to unhealthy food products, chances
are the child will choose the unhealthy product rather than healthier alternatives. In turn, this will
have more negative effects on the health of the child as opposed to healthy food options which
are less likely to involve advertisement tactics.
A particular study was done to determine how television advertisements affect the way
that children eat. “In a preliminary study we examined lean, over weight and obese children’s
ability to recognize eight food and eight non-food related adverts in a repeated measures design.
(Effect of Television Advertisements for Foods on Food Consumption in Children). After the
children viewed these advertisements, the amount of snack foods that were high in fat low in fat
Brown 9
that the children consumed was then measured (Effect of Television). “Whilst there was no
significant difference in the number of non-food adverts recognized between the lean and obese
children, the obese children did recognize significantly more of the food adverts. The ability to
recognize the food adverts significantly correlated with the amount of food eaten after exposure
to them” (Effects of Television). The results of the study showed that when children are exposed
to food advertisements it will cause them to consume more food (Effects of Television). The
study also concluded that the children who were obese or overweight were able to recognize a
greater number of food advertisements than the children that were not considered obese or
overweight (Effects of Television Advertisements for Foods on Food Consumption in Children).
“Exposure to the food adverts increased the child’s attempts to influence the parent’s purchases,
particularly towards choosing the food items which had been advertised” (Effects of Television
Advertisements on Food Consumption in Children). The study that was conducted was a way of
confirming that food advertisements work in a way that influence kids to choose unhealthy
products because of the way that they are portrayed. Another study was conducted by Amanda S.
Bruce and her colleagues at the University of Missouri-Kansas city. In this study, 10 non-obese
children and 10 obese children were chosen to participate (Obesity; Obese Children More
Vulnerable to Food Advertising). “The children were shown 60 food logos and 60 nonfood
logos, and functional magnetic resonance imaging scans indicated which sections of the brain
reacted to the familiar logos being shown” (Obesity; Obese Children More Vulnerable to Food
Advertising). Using the imaging it could be determined how brain activity was for the healthy
children as opposed to the brain activity for the obese children. “This study provides preliminary
evidence that obese children may be more vulnerable to the effects of food advertising” (Obesity;
Obese Children More Vulnerable to Food Advertising). Children that are obese have a stronger
Brown 10
reaction to food advertisements because they have been conditioned to want to consume the
unhealthy products that they find appealing. The problem of childhood obesity is an issue that is
in part related to the unhealthy food that is being promoted in thousands of food advertisements
that can be seen on a daily basis.
Some steps have been taken to reduce the number of advertisements that are geared
toward children; however advertising to children is something that is still very prevalent in
society. Often times the corporations that create advertisements for unhealthy food products
obtain help from psychologists to be able to place key elements in their advertisements to make
them appealing to children. “‘Psychologists who help advertisers are essentially helping them
manipulate children to believe in the capitalistic message, when all the evidence shows that
believing in that message is bad for people,’ says Kesser. ‘That’s unethical’” (Clay). The practice
of using advertisements to make children want to consume food that is known to be unhealthy, is
unethical because children should not be specifically targeted and taken advantage of by large
corporations. Children should be able to know what is healthy to eat and what is unhealthy to eat
so they aren’t accustomed to eating food that is high in sodium and saturated fats. Children
should be provided with knowledge of healthy food alternatives so that they don’t end up being
obese or overweight.
Recently in the United States there are some steps that are being taken to reduce the
number of advertisements that are being shown to Children. However, more steps should be
taken to where there is an actual decrease in the number of obese children in the United States as
well as the rest of the world. “Sixteen food and drink companies have signed up to the voluntary
Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a self-regulatory programme drawn up by
the industry. Since 2003, this has resulted in only a ‘modest’ decrease in the marketing of junk
Brown 11
food to children, the CSPI claimed” (Askew). The Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising
Initiative is a positive movement because it shows that certain corporations that produce food
that isn’t healthy are starting to realize the affects that their advertisements are having on
children. “Sargent and his colleagues examined all nationally televised ads for children’s meals
by leading fast-food restaurants for one year, from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. They compared
ads aimed at kids to ads aimed at adults from the same companies to assess whether selfregulatory pledges for food marketing to children had been implemented” (Fast-Food Television
Ads Use Toys, Movies to Target Kids). Tracy Orleans, PhD, senior scientist at Robert Woods
Johnson Foundation said that the fast food industry can do a lot more to decrease the amount of
advertisements that children are exposed to. If additional companies joined this initiative then it
could generate a movement to greatly reduce the amount of advertisements that promote
unhealthy food to children. The Walt Disney Company has also taken steps to move in the
direction of not showing advertisements for unhealthy foods on its airwaves. “Disney said
yesterday (5 June) its new advertising code aligns it with federal standards that aim to tackle the
obesity epidemic in the US by promoting healthy eating and reduce the amount of salt, sugar and
saturated fat consumed in the country” (Askew). The steps that the Disney Company is taking
could have a positive effect on children throughout the United States. If children start to see
healthier being promoted then they will not have to rely on the thousands of unhealthy options
that are already established. “Only three countries—Sweden, Norway and Finland—have banned
commercial sponsorship of children’s programs, and study authors acknowledged that the
chances of such a ban in the U.S. are slim” (Rabin). Even if the United States doesn’t completely
ban ads aimed toward children, additional steps can be taken in order to reduce the obesity
problem that is prevalent in this country as well as other countries. If the United States were to
Brown 12
eliminate all advertisements for unhealthy foods, it would put somewhat of a dent in the obesity
problem that is faced by a number of children in this country. “Such a move would curb
childhood obesity by 5 to 7 percent, the analysis found” (Rabin).
Fast food corporations spend billions of dollars each year putting out advertisements that
are specifically targeted toward children. These advertisements affect the way that children feel
about food and often times make children want consume the product because of the specific
tactics that are featured in the advertisement. Advertisers use specific appeals such as fantasy and
adventure, as well as cartoon characters and toys to get children to consume food. Children are
often unaware of the unhealthy properties that most snack foods and fast food have, and want to
consume the food solely based on something that they saw in an advertisement. Many
advertisements feature tactics that instantly make children have an emotional connection with the
product that is being advertised. Steps are currently being taken to reduce the way that
advertisements have an effect on children; however the steps that are being taken right now
aren’t enough to have a significant impact on the industry as a whole. If more money and time
were focused on promoting healthier foods as opposed to foods that can cause children to
become obese, then there would be a positive impact on the health of children and the way that
they look at food. Overall, fast food and snack food companies need to change the way that they
advertise to children because the negative effects that advertisements have are very prevalent in
society today. If fast food corporations continue to market to children the way that they do, then
the obesity problem that is being faced will only get worse. Food corporations should not market
to children and manipulate them into eating food that is bad for their health, instead they should
focus the majority of their resources on marketing that is geared toward healthy food options. If
Brown 13
the proper steps are taken the obesity problem could very well be reduced, and children will be
healthier in future generations.
Brown 14
Works Cited
Alkharfy, Khalid M. “Food Advertisements: To Ban or Not to Ban?” NCBI. U.S. National
Library of Medicine, Nov.-Dec. 2011. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.
Askew, Katy. "US: Disney Bans "Junk Food" Advertising." ProQuest. N.p., 06 June 2012. Web.
13 Oct. 2013.
Clay, Rebecca A. "Advertising to Children: Is It Ethical?" American Psychological Association.
N.p., Sept. 2000. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
"Depiction of Food as Having Drug-like Properties in Televised Food Advertisements Directed
at Children: Portrayals as Pleasure Enhancing and Addictive." ScienceDirect. N.p.,
May-June 2009. Web. 20 Oct.2013.
"Effect of Television Advertisements for Foods on Food Consumption in Children."
ScienceDirect. N.p., Apr. 2004. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.
"Fantasy In Food Advertising Targeted At Children." ProQuest. N.p., 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
"Fast-Food Television Ads Use Toys, Movies to Target Kids." Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. N.p., 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
Folta, Sara C., Jennifer Bourbeau, and Jeanne P. Goldberg. "Watching Children Watch Food
Advertisements on TV." ScienceDirect. N.p., Feb. 2008. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
."Obesity; Obese Children More Vulnerable to Food Advertising." ProQuest. N.p., 22 Dec. 2012.
Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Rabin, Roni Caryn. "TV Ads Contribute to Childhood Obesity, Economists Say." The New York
Times. N.p., 20 Nov. 2008. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
Brown 15
Sifferlin, Alexandra. "Forget the Food: Fast Food Ads Aimed at Kids Feature Lots of
Giveaways." Time.com. N.p., 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
"The Use of Negative Themes in Television Food Advertising." ScienceDirect. N.p., Apr. 2002.
Web. 20 Oct. 2013.
Brown 16