An Experiment Evaluating the Effectiveness of Counter-marketing Food Messages Among Young Adults
Stanford University
Summary
The primary objective of this study is to identify the food counter-marketing messages (i.e., messages that describe deceptive marketing tactics used by food companies) that are perceived as most effective among young adults.
Description
Participants will complete a within-subjects, randomized experiment in which they view and rate messages describing deceptive marketing tactics used by food companies to sell unhealthy products. Messages cover five topics: (1) lying about unhealthy products being healthy, (2) engineering foods to be addictive, (3) covering up evidence about the harms of consuming unhealthy products, (4) targeting groups, (5) piggybacking on social causes to promote products. Each topic is presented in five framing variants: an unframed version and four values-based frames that connect the message to a value (…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–29 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Age between 18-29 years * Reside in the United States * Consume at least 5-6 servings per week of sugary drinks and 5-6 servings per week of sweet and salty snacks Exclusion Criteria: * Younger than 18 or older than 29 years * Reside outside of the United States * Consume less than 5-6 servings per week of sugary drinks or less than 5-6 servings per week of sweet and salty snacks
Interventions
- BehavioralLying about unhealthy foods being healthy
Participants will view 5 messages about how food companies promote unhealthy foods as healthy.
- BehavioralEngineering foods to be addictive
Participants will view 5 messages about how food companies engineer foods to be addictive.
- BehavioralTargeting groups
Participants will view 5 messages about how food companies target some groups to sell their unhealthy products.
- BehavioralPiggybacking on social causes
Participants will view 5 messages about how food companies promote their unhealthy products by piggybacking on popular social causes.
- BehavioralCovering up the evidence about the harms of unhealthy foods
Participants will view 5 messages about how food companies cover up evidence about the harms of their unhealthy products.
- Behavioral
Location
- Stanford School of MedicinePalo Alto, California