Does advertising & branding affect the food preferences of Children?
In efforts to combat childhood obesity, and the increased risk of chronic disease associated with obesity in adulthood, the government has announced restrictions on the advertising of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) in advertisements on TV and online before the 9pm watershed to come into effect at the end of 2022 (1).
The new rules were announced last month, ahead of National Childhood Obesity Week and have garnered much media attention with measures and strategies to limit advertising of junk food on TV initiated over a decade ago. Restrictions were first introduced in 2007 on the packaging of foods aimed at children and the scheduling of food advertisements during children’s programmes to combat childhood obesity. More recently, during the Queen's speech in May this year, the government proposed a 9 pm watershed ban on adverts for food and drinks HFSS on TV and online. The actions to expand the restrictions before the 9 pm watershed have been hugely supported by MPs and healthcare professionals. While the food and advertising industries have voiced their criticism of the measures, particularly regarding the advertising of newfound product reformulations. The new rules do not restrict companies advertising on their own websites and social media accounts and smaller brands (less than 250 employees) will still be allowed to advertise food and drinks HFSS (1).
The food and advertising industries have used clever marketing to entice children and teenagers for decades, taking full advantage of the vulnerability of children. Children and teenagers lack the ability to interpret the tactful techniques used in advertising due to their ‘precognition’ stage of cognitive defence, leaving them unable to separate real content from clever advertising. Advertisers use marketing techniques such as;
- Fun and engaging adverts
- Theme tunes that a child can recall
- Schedule adverts during family TV shows/programmes
- Use celebrities, cartoon characters, sports personalities to promote products
- Use social media influencers to endorse products during vlogs and in social media
- Use comedy, bright colours, graphics & funny voices in adverts
- Free gifts and promotions
to entice children and teenagers to buy their products. Along with advertising, packaging of food and drinks HFSS is used as a ‘silent salesman’ to further influence the preferences of children (2). Visual elements of food and drink HFSS packaging are used to attract the attention of the younger generation. The allurement of recognisable characters, colours and the design accentuate the brand, impact, and create communication between the consumer and the food industry.
The food industry uses;
1. Characters as mascots to appeal to children e.g. Tony the Tiger on Kellogg's Frosties
2. Familiar characters from TV programmes e.g. Peppa Pig
3. Food shaped as animals or into fun shapes to appeal to children e.g. Pom-Bear Crisps, alphabet pasta
5. Offers of free gifts & special promotions e.g. free stickers, collecting cards
6. Colour e.g. brightly coloured packaging used to attract attention and seem fun and exciting
Why the need for such policies?
The advertising of unhealthy food has dominated our screens, radios, magazines, billboards, and bus-stop for years. A report by the Obesity Health Alliance revealed that almost 60% of food and drink adverts shown during family viewed programmes were for foods HFSS.3 Certainly, this has had an impact on our diets and eating patterns with numerous studies highlighting the direct effect advertising of food on TV, and the internet has on children’s preferences, diet and eating habits. A good deal of these studies has shown the influence advertising of food and drink products HFSS have on children’s ‘pester power’ to sway their parents' purchasing choices and the overall impact on children’s eating behaviours (4). The studies revealed that children exposed to HFSS food and drinks were more likely to have a preference and influence their parents to consume the brands advertised.
The disparity in advertising of healthy and unhealthy foods is surely a large contributor to the increasing obesity rates in children and damaging the future health of children. A staggering £300 million and more was spent on the advertising of unhealthy food in 2017 as calculated in a report by The Food Foundation.5 In comparison, just over £16 million was spent on advertising of fruits and vegetables due to the fact that there are no brands for fruits and vegetables to drive the competitive marketing (5). Indeed, the government’s commitment to introduce restrictions on advertising before 9 pm will reduce the exposure to advertisements of food and drinks HFSS and can only be a step in the right direction.
Previous policies such as the Soft Drinks Industry Levy known as the ‘Sugar Tax’ and an advertising ban on junk food on the Transport for London (TfL) network in 2019 were heavily condemned (6). However, the tax on soft drinks encouraged drinks companies to reformulate and produce healthier versions of their products. Likewise, TfL restrictions on advertising of junk food reportedly increased space for advertising of healthier foods (7).
It remains to be seen whether the efforts to minimise exposure to advertising of unhealthy foods, particularly food and drinks HFSS will reduce the obesity rates in children. Furthermore, the restrictions may not necessarily be effective in reducing the exposure of such advertisements to teenagers and young people that watch TV and online content after 9 pm. Yet, with the aim to tackle childhood obesity, such government policies and strategies can be positive in helping people make better choices with less exposure to adverts that influence and affect the preferences of children.
Written by: Rumana Dhanji (ANutr)
References
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-advertising-rules-to-help-tackle-childhood-obesity
2. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/07363760310489652/full/html
3. http://obesityhealthalliance.org.uk/
4. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-risk-regulation/article/abs/uk-rules-on-unhealthy-food-marketing-to-children/2F42A4F958A7B472EA8B3CD1A24B77AD
5. https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/the-broken-plate-2020-report/
6. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drinks-industry-levy-comes-into-effect
7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827321001038