Celebrity Endorsment

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Review

BioMed Central

Open Access

Food Advertising and Marketing Directed at Children and Adolescents in the US

Mary Story* and Simone French

Address: Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA Email: Mary Story* - story@epi.umn.edu; Simone French - french@epi.umn.edu * Corresponding author

Published: 10 February 2004 International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2004, 1:3 This article is available from: http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/1/1/3

Received: 09 September 2003 Accepted: 10 February 2004

© 2004 Story and French; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL.

Abstract

In recent years, the food and beverage industry in the US has viewed children and adolescents as a major market force. As a result, children and adolescents are now the target of intense and specialized food marketing and advertising efforts. Food marketers are interested in youth as consumers because of their spending power, their purchasing influence, and as future adult consumers. Multiple techniques and channels are used to reach youth, beginning when they are toddlers, to foster brand-building and influence food product purchase behavior. These food marketing channels include television advertising, in-school marketing, product placements, kids clubs, the Internet, toys and products with brand logos, and youth-targeted promotions, such as cross-selling and tie-ins. Foods marketed to children are predominantly high in sugar and fat, and as such are inconsistent with national dietary recommendations. The purpose of this article is to examine the food advertising and marketing channels used to target children and adolescents in the US, the impact of food advertising on...