Fast food, ads, and taste in a Russian child ’s mind

This article extends this line of research by investigating the complex and interacting effects of food brand marketing on experienced taste. The empirical field in a remote Russian town enabled the assessment of bra nding effects when entering a newly established market. Examining the combination of various advertisement features with emotional brand elicitation, we derive hypotheses about the interplay of brands and advertisement components linked to the perceived taste of a fast food meal. In Novosibirsk, Rus sia, 778 children and adolescents aged 10–18 years were exposed to fast food advertisements with real and imaginary brand logos and varying advertising claims. The advertisements consisted of a warning, an exaggerated credence claim, or both. A subsequently offered fast food meal—a portion of Fr ench fries—was experimentally varied and prepared to be either healthier but less tasty and unsalted, or less healthy but tastier and salted. The findings verify strong and positive brand effects on children’s taste satisfaction. Warnings in advertisements “worked” only for novel fast food b rands by negatively affecting taste satisfaction, but increased taste satisfaction when applied in advertisements for established brands. Single credence claims did not improve the taste experience, but counteracted the negative effects of warnings for novel brands. Finally, the established brand in fluenced taste satisfaction positively when the fries were saltier. The finding...
Source: Psychology and Marketing - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research