Advertising works
A study from the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine shows that low-income children between the ages of 3 and 5 prefer the taste of food with McDonald’s labeling. When presented with five identical food items wrapped both in plain packaging and McDonald’s packaging children liked the McDonald’s wrapped food better. They even preferred the carrots, an item that isn’t even a menu option in the actual restaurant. The number of televisions in the house and the frequency of eating at McDonald’s were two factors that increased the branding effect.
The authors write
…branding effects were evident in our low-income, ethnically and culturally diverse, 87% nonwhite, and 38% Spanish-speaking or bilingual English-Spanish–speaking sample of 3- to 5-year-olds.
These results add evidence to support recommendations to regulate or ban advertising or marketing of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and beverages, or all marketing, that is directed to young children. This approach has been advocated based on evidence that advertising to young children is inherently unfair because most children younger than 7 to 8 years are unable to understand the persuasive intent of advertising.
Our findings also suggest a need for research on marketing in general, and branding in particular, as strategies to promote more healthful taste preferences and food and beverage choices in young children. In this experiment, children preferred the taste of carrots and milk if they thought they were from McDonald’s. This is an opportunity for heavily marketed brands to respond to rising rates of childhood obesity by changing their product offerings…
The full article is available online at the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
advertising, McDonalds, taste preference, advertising to children,
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