Can Public-Service Advertising Change Children's Nutrition Habits?

Can Public-Service Advertising Change Children’s Nutrition habits? The Impact of Relevance and Familiarity Monali Hota This study presents research conducted in France that builds (and tests) a framework IÉSEG School of for effectiveness of pro-nutrition public service announcements targeted at children. management, LEm, UmR France The study used the example of advertisements that encouraged children’s fruit [email protected] consumption. “Child-relevance” of a campaign, which is created by using popular RUBEN Chumpitaz elements from commercial children’s food advertising, is found to be a key antecedent CáCERES to effectiveness of pro-nutrition messages, both in terms of attitudinal and behavioral IÉSEG School of change. Further, it is also important to take care of the aspect of “campaign management, Lille, France and ESAn familiarity” and spend proportionate amounts of media budgets on public service University, monterrico messages in comparison to commercial food advertising. Peru [email protected] ANTOINE COUSIN INTRODUCTION significantly lowered rates of childhood obesity Distribuciones Facundo, Obesity certainly has its origin in genetics, but and increased fruit and vegetable consumption, S.A., Spain nearly 70 percent of the prevalence is caused by in the commercial food sector and in public health [email protected] changes in the lifestyles of children and their par- (Frobisher, Jepson, and Maxwell, 2005; Murray, ents (AFSSA, 2004). Children today mature early 2001; Seaman and Kirk, 1995). This performance as consumers. Contributing factors include their comes despite a White House Conference on Food growing autonomous purchase power and their Nutrition and Health recommending as far back increasing influence on household purchases as 1970 that “tone, manner and feeling are crucial (especially in the context of dual-income house- to this task in public education” (U.S. Govern- holds; McNeal, 1992). ment, 1970). Advertising of child-oriented food products ulti- Traditional pro-nutrition campaigns—espe- mately exerts a significant influence on children’s cially those targeted at children—generally may attitudes and choices owing to the following: have been ineffective because they have tended to assume that improving nutritional knowledge • These advertisements capitalizing on the results in changes in food habits (Seaman and unique abilities and limitations of children Kirk, 1995), failing to realize the ways in which (Scammon and Christopher, 1981) the tone and manner of such messages need to be • Children’s familiarity with television adver- tailored for children (Murray, 2001). tising for such food products—in contrast to Academic research in marketing on the topic of their general lack of awareness of pro-nutri- pro-nutrition PSAs targeted at children has been tion public service announcements (PSAs; limited. In the late 1970s, there were some stud- Gorn and Goldberg, 1982). ies whose primary objective was to document the likely negative effects of some television commer- Further, there are very few reported instances of cials (food advertising, for instance) and to exam- effective pro-nutrition initiatives, in terms of both ine what could be done to counter them (Galst, 460 JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH December 2010 DOI: 10.2501/S0021849910091610 CAn PUBLIC-Service AdvertisinG CHAnGE CHILDREn’S nUTRITIOn HABITS? obesity certainly has its origin in genetics, but nearly that depicted the girls and their varying health and nutrition-related habits and 70 percent of the prevalence is caused by changes in preferences (Flores, 2006). Preliminary results suggested that this program posi- the lifestyles of children and their parents. tively reinforced two types of behavior— consumption of fruit and vegetables and participation in physical activities. Examining these findings in light of 1978; Goldberg and Gorn, 1979; Goldberg, may not actually happen (Seaman and the proven effectiveness of child-ori- Gorn, and Gibson, 1978). Such research, Kirk, 1995; Borra et al., 1995; Frobisher et ented marketing and advertising (espe- therefore, always has assessed the poten- al., 2005). In 2001, in FoodService Director, cially with respect to food products), tial educational impact of pro-nutrition Joan Murray wrote that some nutrition these findings imply that creating food messages as an offsetting influence to programs geared toward children may and nutrition concepts that conform to the controversial nutrition messages in have been generally ineffective to date, a particular target group’s (in this case TV food advertisements (Scammon and not because they deal with the topic of children) expressed desires, values, and Christopher, 1981). health but because of the tone and man- tendencies could be positive factors for There seems to be no research that com- ner in which the messages were conveyed. the creation of effective nutritional cam- pares different types of pro-nutrition PSAs In other words, public-health messages— paigns. In fact, a “Junk Food” episode of with one another to determine which one especially those aimed at children—often CBS’s “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids” has a stronger impact on behavioral inten- are full of facts and figures and carry a television program influenced young tions (without comparison with snack- moralistic tone to convey the seriousness viewers to select fewer sugared snack food commercials). The context for this of the concerned issues (Murray, 2001). and breakfast foods, even though the pro- type of research has shifted from a mere As far back as 1982, a study about the gram carried advertising for these food examination of the possible negative behavioral impact of televised food mes- lines (Goldberg et al., 1978). Research effects of food commercials to a deeper sages rated nutritional PSAs as lacking indicates that the program may have been examination of how pro-nutrition mes- in emotional appeal for children (Gorn successful because it used a combination sages can be used to encourage the kind and Goldberg, 1982). In spite of such of animation and comedy to entertain of healthy eating that would keep world- long-standing evidence, however, nutri- children. In doing so, the young audi- wide childhood obesity at bay. tional education professionals have yet ence paid more attention to the meaning- This article presents research conducted to address the ineffectiveness of such ful nutritional themes of eating balanced in France. The study builds and tests a programs. foods and avoiding junk food (Goldberg framework for effectiveness of pro-nutri- In contrast, one 1995 study found that et al., 1978). tion PSAs targeted at children, specifically an innovative healthy-eating campaign— The discussion appears further justi- studying the effects of PSAs that encour- a program jointly administered in pri- fied with the examination of research age children to eat fruit. Specific focus as mary schools by the food industry and on the personal relevance of advertising likely influences on this effectiveness is an academic department—produced messages, involvement, and advertising given to the impact of child-relevance of positive results, not only in terms of effectiveness. High personal relevance campaign and campaign-familiarity. knowledge of nutrition but in improved of an advertising message would seem food habits (Seaman and Kirk, 1995). to lead to thoughtful, systematic evalua- ThEORETICAL BACKGROUND Similarly, “Food, Fun and Fitness Inter- tion of advertising message and content Nutrition Education: Is There Need for a net Program for Girls,” an American (Petty and colleagues, 1979–1983), unlike New Direction? nutritional education campaign targeted messages with low relevance (Petty and Some research suggests that traditional at African-American girls between the Cacioppo, 1979, 1981; Petty, Cacioppo, nutrition education not only is often bor- ages of 8 and 10, successfully addressed and Goldman, 1981). Similarly, research ing but that it tends to assume inaccu- the issue of childhood obesity. The series also suggests that high personal rele- rately that improving nutrition knowledge used Internet-based media and created vance of advertising messages will lead will result in changes to food habits that culturally sensitive animated characters to high attitude–behavior consistency December 2010 JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH 461 CAn PUBLIC-Service AdvertisinG CHAnGE CHILDREn’S nUTRITIOn HABITS? (Leippe and Elkin, 1987; Sivacek and of their muscles or increase in their ath- toward the consumption of foods high in Crano, 1982). letic capabilities. fat, sugar, or salt (WHICH?, 2007). Empir- The adaptation of popular elements • Animated spokespersons or charac- ical research with parents with children from child-oriented advertising into ters are very effective in advertising under the age of 16 supports this, as 75 child nutrition PSAs, therefore, could be —especially with very young children, percent of the interview subjects agreed an important way to make nutritional who still sometimes have difficulties that the use of cartoons in the packaging/ messages more personally relevant to in reading and comprehending adver- promotion of unhealthy food had under- children—and, thereby, increase their tising messages. Such characters help mined their efforts to make their children involvement with messages. children develop both product knowl- eat more healthily (WHICH?). Similarly, edge and brand preferences (Neeley there has been a long-standing contro- Effectiveness of Child-oriented

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