Is this advertisement designed to appeal to you? Adolescents’ views about Instagram advertisements promoting ultra-processed products
Abstract Objective: Examine the key elements that characterise social media advertisements targeted at adolescents by asking adolescents which features of Instagram ads promoting ultra-processed products make them designed to appeal to adolescents. Design: Instagram ads promoting ultra-processed...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Public Health Nutrition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980024000533/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797242761588506624 |
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| author | Gastón Ares Lucía Antúnez Florencia Alcaire Virginia Natero Tobias Otterbring |
| author_facet | Gastón Ares Lucía Antúnez Florencia Alcaire Virginia Natero Tobias Otterbring |
| author_sort | Gastón Ares |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Abstract
Objective:
Examine the key elements that characterise social media advertisements targeted at adolescents by asking adolescents which features of Instagram ads promoting ultra-processed products make them designed to appeal to adolescents.
Design:
Instagram ads promoting ultra-processed products and brands were selected from a database in which ads had been classified regarding whether they were primarily targeted at adolescents from an adult perspective. Adolescents completed a sorting task in small groups and were requested to reach a consensus through discussions and sticky notes regarding whether sixty ads were designed to appeal to them. The sorting task was analysed using content analysis based on inductive coding.
Setting:
One private secondary school and two after-school clubs.
Participants:
Convenience sample of 105 Uruguayan adolescents aged 11–17 years.
Results:
Ten categories were identified regarding the reasons for sorting ads as (not) designed to appeal to adolescents: product type, graphic design, explicit references to age groups, language, activities or themes, memes, celebrities, characters, promotions and novelty. Product type emerged as a key element, with adolescents perceiving ads as designed to appeal to them simply because they promoted specific products.
Conclusions:
This research contributes to the validation of criteria defined in previous studies and can be used for the development of tools to monitor the prevalence and power of adolescent-targeted digital marketing. However, the importance attributed to type of product suggests that regulations should not exclusively focus on exposure to digital marketing specifically targeted at adolescents but also on exposure to marketing in general.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:44:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c2a2b471cbe4528b07b23f59f7da078 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1368-9800 1475-2727 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:44:22Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Public Health Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c2a2b471cbe4528b07b23f59f7da0782024-03-27T08:20:14ZengCambridge University PressPublic Health Nutrition1368-98001475-27272024-01-012710.1017/S1368980024000533Is this advertisement designed to appeal to you? Adolescents’ views about Instagram advertisements promoting ultra-processed productsGastón Ares0Lucía Antúnez1Florencia Alcaire2Virginia Natero3Tobias Otterbring4Sensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 s/n, Pando, Montevideo, Uruguay Centro de Investigación Básica en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Tristán Narvaja 1674, Montevideo, UruguaySensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 s/n, Pando, Montevideo, UruguaySensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 s/n, Pando, Montevideo, UruguayEscuela de Nutrición, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, UruguaySchool of Business and Law, Department of Management, University of Agder, Universitetsveien 17, Kristiansand, Norway Abstract Objective: Examine the key elements that characterise social media advertisements targeted at adolescents by asking adolescents which features of Instagram ads promoting ultra-processed products make them designed to appeal to adolescents. Design: Instagram ads promoting ultra-processed products and brands were selected from a database in which ads had been classified regarding whether they were primarily targeted at adolescents from an adult perspective. Adolescents completed a sorting task in small groups and were requested to reach a consensus through discussions and sticky notes regarding whether sixty ads were designed to appeal to them. The sorting task was analysed using content analysis based on inductive coding. Setting: One private secondary school and two after-school clubs. Participants: Convenience sample of 105 Uruguayan adolescents aged 11–17 years. Results: Ten categories were identified regarding the reasons for sorting ads as (not) designed to appeal to adolescents: product type, graphic design, explicit references to age groups, language, activities or themes, memes, celebrities, characters, promotions and novelty. Product type emerged as a key element, with adolescents perceiving ads as designed to appeal to them simply because they promoted specific products. Conclusions: This research contributes to the validation of criteria defined in previous studies and can be used for the development of tools to monitor the prevalence and power of adolescent-targeted digital marketing. However, the importance attributed to type of product suggests that regulations should not exclusively focus on exposure to digital marketing specifically targeted at adolescents but also on exposure to marketing in general. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980024000533/type/journal_articleAdolescentsAdolescent targeted marketingDigital food marketingContent analysisSocial media marketingPublic health policy |
| spellingShingle | Gastón Ares Lucía Antúnez Florencia Alcaire Virginia Natero Tobias Otterbring Is this advertisement designed to appeal to you? Adolescents’ views about Instagram advertisements promoting ultra-processed products Public Health Nutrition Adolescents Adolescent targeted marketing Digital food marketing Content analysis Social media marketing Public health policy |
| title | Is this advertisement designed to appeal to you? Adolescents’ views about Instagram advertisements promoting ultra-processed products |
| title_full | Is this advertisement designed to appeal to you? Adolescents’ views about Instagram advertisements promoting ultra-processed products |
| title_fullStr | Is this advertisement designed to appeal to you? Adolescents’ views about Instagram advertisements promoting ultra-processed products |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is this advertisement designed to appeal to you? Adolescents’ views about Instagram advertisements promoting ultra-processed products |
| title_short | Is this advertisement designed to appeal to you? Adolescents’ views about Instagram advertisements promoting ultra-processed products |
| title_sort | is this advertisement designed to appeal to you adolescents views about instagram advertisements promoting ultra processed products |
| topic | Adolescents Adolescent targeted marketing Digital food marketing Content analysis Social media marketing Public health policy |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980024000533/type/journal_article |
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