The construction of fun in food advertisements targeting children

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how the discursive strategies used in advertising contribute to bringing food products into the children's world, to transforming them into children's food – fun food in particular.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis focuses on a sample of advertisements on food products that appeared from 1950 to 2005 in Le Journal de Mickey (France), Micky Maus (Germany) and Topolino (Italy). The paper aims to study the social implications of food advertisement targeting children through the analysis of their graphic composition, verbal language, visual language, and narrative structure.

Findings

This research shows that, since the 1950s in France, Germany and Italy, advertising discourse targeting children has tended to emphasize the pleasure dimension of consuming foods, linking the products with fun and play and making the break with the tastes, norms and expectations of adults.

Originality/value

While extensive research has been conducted on television food commercials, little attention has been paid to other advertising media. The study provides a historical and comparative analysis of food advertisements in the children's press.

Citation

De Iulio, S. (2010), "The construction of fun in food advertisements targeting children", Young Consumers, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 96-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/17473611011065782