BACKGROUND: Children are active on social media and consequently are exposed to new and subtle forms of food marketing. OBJECTIVES: To examine whether exposure to a YouTube video featuring influencer marketing of an unhealthy snack affects children's ad libitum snack intake and whether inclusion of an advertising disclosure moderates this effect. METHODS: In a randomized between-subjects design, 151 children (aged 9-11 y; mean, 10.32 y ± 0.6) were exposed to influencer marketing of a non-food product (n = 51), or an unhealthy snack with (n = 50) or without (n = 50) an advertising disclosure. Participants' ad libitum intake of the marketed snack and an alternative brand of the same snack was measured. RESULTS: Children exposed to food marketing with (P < .001, d = 1.40) and without (P < .001, d = 1.07) a disclosure consumed more (kcals) of the marketed snack relative to the alternative; the control did not differ (.186, d = 0.45). Consumption of the alterative brand did not differ across conditions (.287, ηp 2 = .02). Children who viewed food marketing with a disclosure (and not those without) consumed 41% more of the marketed snack (.004, ηp 2 = .06), compared with control. CONCLUSIONS: Influencer marketing increases children's immediate intake of the promoted snack relative to an alternative brand. Advertising disclosures may enhance the effect.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND:Children are active on social media and consequently are exposed to new and subtle forms of food marketing. OBJECTIVES: To examine whether exposure to a YouTube video featuring influencer marketing of an unhealthy snack affects children's ad libitum snack intake and whether inclusion of an advertising disclosure moderates this effect. METHODS: In a randomized between-subjects design, 151 children (aged 9-11 y; mean, 10.32 y ± 0.6) were exposed to influencer marketing of a non-food product (n = 51), or an unhealthy snack with (n = 50) or without (n = 50) an advertising disclosure. Participants' ad libitum intake of the marketed snack and an alternative brand of the same snack was measured. RESULTS:Children exposed to food marketing with (P < .001, d = 1.40) and without (P < .001, d = 1.07) a disclosure consumed more (kcals) of the marketed snack relative to the alternative; the control did not differ (.186, d = 0.45). Consumption of the alterative brand did not differ across conditions (.287, ηp 2 = .02). Children who viewed food marketing with a disclosure (and not those without) consumed 41% more of the marketed snack (.004, ηp 2 = .06), compared with control. CONCLUSIONS: Influencer marketing increases children's immediate intake of the promoted snack relative to an alternative brand. Advertising disclosures may enhance the effect.
Authors: Catherine C Pollack; Jason Kim; Jennifer A Emond; John Brand; Diane Gilbert-Diamond; Travis D Masterson Journal: Public Health Nutr Date: 2020-07-03 Impact factor: 4.022
Authors: Anna Elizabeth Coates; Charlotte Alice Hardman; Jason Christian Grovenor Halford; Paul Christiansen; Emma Jane Boyland Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-01-09 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Catherine C Pollack; Diane Gilbert-Diamond; Jennifer A Emond; Alec Eschholz; Rebecca K Evans; Emma J Boyland; Travis D Masterson Journal: J Nutr Sci Date: 2021-04-27