Analysis of advertising in the multimedia environment of children and adolescents in Peru

Abstract

I examined advertising of healthy and unhealthy food and beverage products across television, Facebook, outdoors, and bodegas. I used content analysis to describe the types of advertised food products, the persuasive techniques of the advertisements of these products, and the portrayals of eating behaviors on food advertising. Findings revealed that food promotion was more prominent in pointof- purchase advertising and less on television. The three most common advertised products were sweets, sugary drinks, and fastfood restaurants, and the persuasive techniques most commonly associated with food and beverage advertisements were appeals to the flavor/taste/smell/texture, nutritional quality, competitive/unique, and newness of the product; only one emotional appeal stood out in one medium: family bonding was frequent on television. This study is one of the few that have collectively surveyed food advertising that children and adolescents are likely to find in their multimedia environment.