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Food Marketing: Using Toys to Market Children’s Meals

Nearly $2 billion is spent yearly by U.S. food and beverage companies to market products to children, with the majority of expenditures promoting less healthful foods and drinks. For restaurants, including toys with children’s meals is the leading form of food marketing directed at children. The practice of child-directed marketing by pairing toys with children’s More

Date: August 2014

Resource Type: Research Brief

Focus Areas: Food Marketing

Impact of San Francisco’s Toy Ordinance on Restaurants and Children’s Food Purchases, 2011-2012

In December 2011, San Francisco enacted the first citywide ordinance–the Healthy Food Incentives Ordinance– prohibiting restaurants in the city from giving away free toys or other incentives with children’s meals or with foods and beverages not meeting minimal nutritional criteria. This paper examines the impact of the ordinance on restaurant response (e.g., toy-distribution practices, changes More

Date: July 2014

Resource Type: Journal Article

Focus Areas: Food Marketing

Food Marketing to Children Through Toys: Response of Restaurants to the First U.S. Toy Ordinance

Santa Clara County, California was the first U.S. jurisdiction to implement an ordinance that prohibits the distribution of toys and other incentives to children with meals, foods, or beverages that do not meet minimal nutrition criteria. This paper examines how ordinance-affected restaurants changed their children’s menus, child-directed marketing, and toy distribution practices relative to non-affected More

Date: January 2012

Resource Type: Journal Article

Focus Areas: Food Marketing

Assessing the Impact of Two California County Ordinances Banning Toys or Other Incentives with Unhealthful Menu Items for Kids

The advertising and marketing of unhealthful foods and beverages via cross-promotions and premiums, such as toys and other incentives, may contribute to the development of unhealthy eating patterns and obesity, particularly in children. Santa Clara and San Francisco Counties (Calif.) passed separate ordinances on May 21, 2010 and November 9, 2010, respectively, preventing restaurants from More

Date: November 2010

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Food Marketing Food Retail