TABLE 1.
Characteristics of Television Advertisements Promoting Children’s Packaged Foods and Beverages by Target Audience
| Characteristic | Unique Advertisements by Target Audiencea | Pb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children, n = 250 | Parents, n = 92 | ||
| Actor characteristics | |||
| Primarily animated | 142 (56.8) | 13 (14.1) | <.001 |
| Licensed character present | 106 (42.4) | 24 (26.1) | .009 |
| Food as character | 70 (28.0) | 13 (14.1) | .012 |
| Child present | 153 (61.2) | 90 (97.8) | <.001 |
| Parent present | 4 (1.6) | 85 (92.4) | <.001 |
| General adult present | 42 (16.8) | 17 (18.5) | .748 |
| Actor actions | |||
| Item consumed in ad | 135 (54.0) | 65 (70.7) | .008 |
| Shared preparation | NAc | 22 (23.9) | NAc |
| Parent gives item to child | NAc | 62 (68.9) | NAc |
| Child thanks parent | NAc | 39 (42.4) | NAc |
| Child requests item | NAc | 6 (6.5) | NAc |
| Premiums or tie-ins | |||
| Promotional item included | 33 (13.4) | 0 (0) | <.001 |
| TV or movie tie-in | 22 (8.8) | 3 (3.3) | .101 |
| Sweepstakes or contest | 15 (6.0) | 2 (2.2) | .259 |
| Internet/social media | |||
| Online reference | 91 (36.4) | 21 (22.8) | .025 |
| Health/wellness messaging | |||
| Nutritional or health message | 35 (14.0) | 39 (42.4) | <.001 |
| Parent reads label | 0 (0) | 14 (15.2) | <.001 |
| Active lifestyle presented | 27 (10.8) | 24 (26.1) | <.001 |
| Qualitative appealsd | |||
| Fun | 164 (65.6) | 39 (42.4) | <.001 |
| Taste | 143 (57.2) | 33 (35.9) | <.001 |
| Humor | 118 (47.2) | 13 (14.1) | <.001 |
| Fantasy | 104 (41.6) | 4 (4.4) | <.001 |
| Action/adventure | 101 (40.4) | 1 (1.1) | <.001 |
| Desirability | 76 (30.4) | 3 (3.3) | <.001 |
| Mystery | 17 (6.8) | 0 (0) | .009 |
| Convenience | 7 (2.8) | 12 (13.0) | <.001 |
| Nutrition | 6 (2.4) | 35 (38.0) | <.001 |
Advertisements selected among all packaged food and beverage advertisements aired in the United States over network and cable television, March 2012-February 2013.
a
Parent-directed advertisements were defined as having a family bonding appeal. None of the child-directed advertisements included a theme of family bonding.
b
P value from χ2 test; Fisher exact test was used if the number of advertisements in a stratum was ≤5.
c
NA, not applicable: comparison not presented because characteristic related to family bonding appeal, which was used to define parent-directed advertisements.
d
Each advertisement was coded for 4 appeals at most.