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The purpose of this paper is to perform a preliminary examination of informational and transformational advertising appeals in contemporary advertisements for healthy and unhealthy foods.

Western (European) food advertisements published in Belgian food magazines were content analyzed to identify informational and transformational advertising appeals. Belgian food advertising was selected as an adequate representation of Western (European) food advertising because marketing in Belgium is permeated by international influences (cf. Belgian Federal Government). Advertisements were sampled from three magazines over a period of five years, from January 2009 to December 2013. The sample comprised 325 unique advertisements, including 159 for healthy foods and 166 for unhealthy foods.

The results of the content analysis indicated that healthy food advertisements in Belgium are mainly informational, whereas unhealthy food advertisements are mainly transformational.

This preliminary examination of informational and transformational advertising appeals in contemporary healthy food and unhealthy food advertisements shows that healthy food advertisements in Belgium are mainly informational, whereas the segment of consumers which is precarious – people low-involved with healthy food – are mainly attracted by transformational advertising appeals. The contrasting transformational strategy of unhealthy-food advertisements can provide inspiration for healthy food advertisers to help increase healthy food consumption.

This study aims to investigate the effect of healthy food advertising (HFA) in preventing obesity (measured using the healthy eating attitude and perceived self-regulatory success) through the meta-cognitive role of consumer wisdom (CW). The meta-cognitive role of CW to better promote healthy eating attitude and behavior is relevant and underexplored.

Data were collected from 310 young consumers through an online survey. Reliability and validity were established using confirmatory factor analysis, and hypotheses were analyzed through structural equation modeling using MPlus V8.3.

The results reveal that HFA has a positive influence on all dimensions of CW: responsibility, purpose, perspective, reasoning and sustainability. All dimensions but one augment a positive healthy eating attitude, but only responsibility and sustainability enhance consumers’ self-regulatory success. The findings show that HFA does not directly prevent obesity, but CW mediates the relationship between that advertising and obesity prevention. These findings show that CW establishes a mindful connection between HFA and obesity control.

This research extends the theory of CW in the context of healthful eating and contributes significantly to the advertising, hospitality and obesity literature.

This study also has implications for multiple stakeholders, including consumers, restaurant operators, hospitality managers, brand managers, the government and society in general.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study marks the first attempt to investigate the role of CW in preventing obesity. It is also the first study to examine the relationships of HFA with CW and a healthful attitude toward eating.

This paper aims to identify the different types of food featured on children's television in the UK and how frequently they appear.

A content analysis of children's television across four popular UK channels (CBBC, CBeebies, CiTV, Five) was carried out in Autumn 2008. All output including programmes, advertisements, sponsorship, trailers and idents was examined for verbal and visual instances of food and drink. Food and drink mentions were classified according to food categories.

The results showed a high incidence of food across the different kinds of output and across the four channels. In programmes, food mentions were skewed towards healthy (68.7 per cent v. 31.3 per cent) rather than unhealthy foods. The most frequent categories of food were fruit and vegetables, desserts, and grains.

The findings presented here are based on four channels, and analysis of 84 hours of television content aimed at children. The study represents a qualitative picture based on a limited sample at a specific point in time.

The results demonstrate that Ofcom's latest UK guidelines on television advertising of HFSS foods are being adhered to during children's programmes, and question whether programming and other types of output offer a positive or negative view of food and whether they too require intervention.

The results widen the debate about obesity and television advertising by considering the importance of editorial content and other marketing communications in terms of food portrayal on children's television.

This paper aims to outline the historic development of advertising regulation that governs food advertising to children in Australia. Through reviewing primary and secondary literature, such as government reports and research, this paper examines the influence of various regulatory policies that limit children’s exposure to food and beverage marketing on practices across television (TV), branded websites and Facebook pages.

This paper reviews studies performed by the food industry and public health researchers and reviews of the evidence by government and non-government agencies from the early 19th century until the present day. Also included are several other research studies that evaluate the effects of self-regulation on Australian TV food advertising.

The government, public health and the food industry have attempted to respond to the rapid changes within the advertising, marketing and media industries by developing and reviewing advertising codes. However, self-regulation is failing to protect Australian children from exposure to unhealthy food advertising.

The findings could aid the food and beverage industry, and the self-regulatory system, to promote comprehensive and achievable solutions to the growing obesity rates in Australia by introducing new standards that keep pace with expanded forms of marketing communication.

This study adds to the research on the history of regulation of food advertising to children in Australia by offering insights into the government, public health and food industry’s attempts to respond to the rapid changes within the advertising, marketing and media industries by developing and reviewing advertising codes.

A large number of food advertisements are broadcast during children ' s programs which influence their food consumption habits. Globally, consumption of these foods is linked to increased incidence of obesity and other health-related disorders in children. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and extent of food advertising directed at Indian children.

Data were collected by recording programs and advertisements aired on five popular children ' s networks from 9:00 am until 9:00 pm for ten weekdays and weekends each. On an average, total recording of 242 hours for both weekdays and weekends was done. All data were screened and both program and non-program content (advertisements) were identified and analyzed. Data were further analyzed through descriptive statistics.

Out of 4,219 and 4,750 television advertisements broadcast on children ' s networks during weekdays and weekends, 43.33 and 47.62 percent are food advertisements, respectively. “Confectionery” and “sugared and salty snacks” comprise half of total foods advertised during weekdays. Whereas, advertisements for “health drinks and supplements” are most frequently aired during children ' s programs on weekends. A classification of all food advertisements into healthy and unhealthy categories according to “Food Pyramid” given by National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), India in 2010 shows that almost all the advertised foods are unhealthy.

This study will benefit the parents by helping them understand the media content (food advertisements) offered to their children. They may then control television viewing by children, monitor food purchase behavior and take some mealtime actions to control eating habits of their children. Such awareness is critical to force the food marketers to recognize the need to self-regulate food advertising directed at children. Government may also feel the need to formulate a suitable policy for placing time and content restrictions for advertising foods to children.

As no such study has already been conducted in India (to the best of researcher ' s knowledge), this study potentially helps in abridging gaps in literature.

This study aims to explore perceptions of healthy/unhealthy eating, and perceptions of various socializing agents encouraging healthy eating, amongst Chinese adolescents.

A survey was conducted of 152 seventh, eighth and ninth grade Hong Kong students. A structured questionnaire with closed‐ended questions was distributed in three public secondary schools.

Results showed that respondents frequently ate out with friends and frequently consumed a range of relatively unhealthy food (candies, chips, and soft drinks). They perceived that a balanced diet and eating at a regular time were the most important attributes of healthy eating. In terms of situational influences on their consumption, respondents most likely ate unhealthy food at parties, when eating out or with friends. They most likely ate healthy food at home and when they were sick. Looking at socializing agents, respondents claimed that parents and government publicity asked them to eat healthy food more often than teachers or friends. Parents were also perceived as being the most effective source in encouraging them to eat healthy food. In terms of alternative advertising appeals discouraging unhealthy eating, respondents considered news and fear appeals to be the most effective, while popularity and achievement appeals were considered to be relatively less effective.

The respondents were chosen from three secondary schools (two co‐ed schools and one school for boys). These three schools may not be representative of all schools in Hong Kong or elsewhere, thus limiting the generalizability of the findings.

The study can serve as a guideline for social services marketing professionals targeting adolescents. Looking at the findings in relation to socializing agents, social services marketers can consider influencing the adolescents' eating habits through the parents. As government publicity was perceived as a relatively weak socializing agent, there is a need to review health education materials targeting adolescents. Looking at the findings in relation to different advertising appeals discouraging unhealthy eating, news and fear appeals should be considered, as these were considered relatively more likeable and effective than other types of appeals.

The paper offers insights into designing communication strategies for adolescents. It is original in that it focuses on adolescents, and explores the perceptions of various socializing agents influencing healthy eating.

Looks at how food and drink have been marketed to children over the last 15 years. Shows how the “compression culture” of the 1990s, where parents were cash rich and time poor, combined with trends towards fewer children, dual income families and rising divorce rates to foster parental indulgence of children during “quality time”, and thus to “kid power”. Describes how products became aimed at children, as food manufacturers realised that if they made products that appealed to children and induced them to ask their mothers for it, these products would probably be bought. Moves on to the pressure on companies to produce and advertise healthier foods because of the incidence of childhood obesity, and the responses to this of firms like McDonald’s, Kraft and Kellogg’s: reduction of sugar, fat and salt content and additives, promotion of healthier and more active lifestyles, a switch to targeting mothers instead of children, and use of the internet. Concludes with a list of points for consideration by responsible marketers of foods with high fat, sugar and salt levels: they concern advertising honesty, transparency and balance.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of brand placement strength on gamers’ brand recall as moderated by gamers’ prior game playing experience and game involvement in the context of advergames. Specifically, this research utilizes Limited Capacity Model of attention to explain how and under what conditions brand placements create attention, elaboration and subsequent brand recall.

A 2 (brand placement strength: prominent versus subtle) × 2 (prior game playing experience: experienced versus inexperienced) × 2 (game involvement: high versus low involvement) between-subjects measures design is used. Empirical data were obtained from 220 undergraduate student gamers. A between-subjects measures ANOVA is used to test the hypotheses.

There are several important findings that can be inferred from the results. First, inexperienced gamers report high brand recall in prominent brand placements than subtle brand placements, whereas for experienced gamers, no significant difference in recall rates is found between prominent brand placement and subtle brand placement. Second, inexperienced gamers with low game involvement playing an advergame with prominent brand placement report high brand recall compared to inexperienced gamers with high game involvement playing an advergame with prominent brand placement.

The study contributes to the advertising literature from a non-traditional advertising perspective, particularly in the context of online advergames, and explains the role of brand placement and its boundary conditions to create customers’ brand memory. Moreover, this research contributes to the marketing knowledge on how to locate and embed the brands effectively in advergames, taking into account the individual characteristics of each advergame.

The findings are very important for advertising practitioners because selecting media that enhances the brand memory of the consumers through entertainment is a planning strategy that has been widely used by media planners today. Hence, advertising managers should think about designing advergames by taking into account the game involvement factor to make sure that the implementation has the strongest positive effect on consumers’ memory.

This research contributes to the literature of online advertising, especially the advergames by exploring the impact of brand placement strength and prior gaming experience on gamers’ brand recall. In addition, this study is the first step toward understanding the moderating role of game involvement on Indian gamers recall in the context of online advertising.

The purpose of this paper is to describe exploratory work which investigated the negative effects of television commercials on children in the Middle East.

The extant literature on issues relating to the effects of television advertising on children was critically reviewed. Data were collected by conducting a series of 15 projective techniques and a series of semi‐structured interviews with a sample of 12 parents and six psychology and marketing experts from the Middle East.

The results indicate that negative impacts of advertising lead to major social and behavioral problems in children such as physical and verbal violence, materialism and other “values issues” identified by parents, and health problems such as low nutrition and obesity. The results also indicate that although many forms of advertisement affect children negatively, the effects of television commercials are particularly noticeable.

The study provides a list of practical recommendations for marketers and policymakers to help mitigate the negative effects of television advertising on children in the Middle East.

This research is one of very few studies to consider the effects of television advertising on children in the Middle East.

The purpose of the current study is to identify the extent to which promotional strategies and attention elements appear in a sample of children's food commercials.

The research was a content analysis study of 147 commercials that examined 20 separate promotional strategies and 20 different attention elements. The sample of commercials included those appearing on five US broadcast networks during children's programming blocks.

Findings show that the most frequently used promotional strategies were the use of jingles/slogans, showing children with the food, and the use of product identification characters. The use of animation, “real children,” and animal characters were the most used attention elements in the commercials.

The sample of commercials used in this analysis was obtained from broadcast networks and did not include cable network programming; however, the commercials represent commercials from a wide variety of food products and food product categories. Although not determined empirically, the same commercials appeared to air on the broadcast and cable networks.

Health and nutrition educators can draw on this study's findings by applying this information in creating more effective nutrition and health promotion messages designed to counter promotional strategies and attention elements in advertising messages that are addressed in this study.

Although specific promotional strategies and attention elements found in children's food commercials have been identified, there have been no studies addressing the frequency of these strategies/elements among a sample of commercials.