Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Exposure to marketing for alcohol and unhealthy food and beverages directly influences the alcohol use and diet of young people. To safeguard their health, many countries are considering or have introduced marketing restrictions that limit the advertising of specific products considered 'unhealthy' (e.g. alcoholic beverages and food/beverages high is salt, sugar or saturated fat). These restrictions generally allow brands tied to unhealthy products (e.g. Coca Cola) to continue to advertise using brand ads (e.g. the Coca Cola logo) and ads for healthier products with the same branding (e.g. Coca Cola Zero), also called 'surrogate advertising'. This study will 1) assess the effect of these types of permitted ads on the brand perceptions, product choices and purchase intentions of adolescents and 2) identify the products most associated with popular brands. A series of online experiments on food, beverage and alcohol advertising will be conducted to explore the effects of brand and surrogate advertising. In some experiments, participants will be randomly assigned to view one of four different Instagram ads (unhealthy product ad/healthier product ad/brand ad/unrelated control ad) using similar creative designs. After this exposure, participants will answer questions on how they perceive the promoted brand, what products they would like to try or buy, and other relevant outcomes. Our various experiments will examine both popular and unfamiliar brands, using distraction tasks and different ways of measuring the effect of advertising. Brand and surrogate advertising could foster positive brand perceptions that may lead to unhealthy consumption. These types of advertising however are often exempt from marketing restrictions. Understanding their effects is critical for designing marketing restrictions that adequately protect young people. This research will address an important research gap and may help inform policies in Canada and globally.