A content analysis of food advertisements on television during children's prime time

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the contents of food advertisements on TV during children's prime time. Food advertisements were examined on four television stations from 5 pm to 7 pm for a week in 2007. During the period, 62 unique food advertisements were aired a total of 201 times. Of the total 201 advertisements, the confectionary group was the most frequently advertised (33.3%), followed by food service restaurants (19.4%) and non‐alcoholic beverages (18.9%). When the advertisements were categorized according to the target consumer group, those targeting 'general consumers and adults' were 61.7% and those targeting 'children' were 22.9%. The advertisements targeting children mostly featured animation characters, celebrities and peers. The most often used technique (41.9%) of the advertisements targeting children was a promotional offer which directed children's attention to free toys. Advertised foods from 53.2% of 201 advertisements were incompatible with dietary guidelines for children. These results indicate that food advertisements exposed during children's prime time may have negative impacts on children's healthy food choices. Therefore, efforts should be made to establish a better food advertising environment for children by monitoring and controlling food advertisements.