Marketing Techniques in Food and Beverage Advertising on Children’s Channels in Argentina: Differences according to Nutritional Quality

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Advertising uses a broad spectrum of visual, auditory and emotional techniques to persuade children or parents, with different strategies according to the nutritional quality of food and beverages. OBJECTIVES: To describe the marketing techniques used in food and beverage advertising during children’s TV programming and their relation with the nutritional quality of food and beverages. METHODS: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out. Marketing techniques were classified according to Hebden by emotional appeal, product characteristics, visual elements, and sound and audio elements. A total of 100 advertisements were analyzed, 25% of the food and beverages were categorized as healthy according to the nutrient profiling system of Food Standards Agency (FSA). RESULTS: The most used marketing techniques were fun/happiness (83%), fantasy and imagination (59%), palatability (54%), cartoon or animated characters (55%), music/jingles (97%) and messages aimed at children (83%). CONCLUSIONS: Differences were observed between the techniques according to the nutritional quality of food and beverages