Overweight and obesity are some of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century and are regarded as one of the principal causes of the cost explosion due to chronic illness. An important part here is played by the messages directed at children by the food industry through frequent advertising of unhealthy products. Despite the high level of topicality and relevance of the subject, the empirical basis for assessment of the effects on product preferences and children’s selection behavior due to implicit persuasion, for example in consequence of integrative forms of advertising such as product placement, is still very weak. Findings on the behavior of younger children gained in real reception and purchasing situations - with all the typically competing influences - are almost entirely lacking. The study meets both challenges with a unique field experiment using two age groups (between 3 and 8 years) in a real-world setting. This is expected to lead to significant conclusions with respect to implications for media and advertising literacy and to make a soundly based contribution to the international debate on the effects of implicit persuasion.

Funding

ORF Enterprise

CMC Staff

Maren B. M. Beaufort (Project Leader, Contact)

Interviewing and Observation:

Michele Ganguly, Annika Kafka, Andrea Spielbichler

Cooperation Partners

Prof. Hans-Bernd Brosius, LMU Munich, Department of Communication Studies and Media Research

Awards

2016 Top Student Paper Award of the ICA Division “Children, Adolescents and the Media” (CAM) for Maren Beaufort’s paper “How Candy Placements in Films Influence Children’s Selection Behavior in Real Life Shopping Scenarios”

In the Media

Maren Beaufort on product placements and their effects on children’s shopping behavior: Ö1 - matrix: „Süße Versuchungen“ (29.05.2016)

Publications and Lectures