Evaluating Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Advertising prior to Implementation of the San Francisco Warning Label Ordinance

Starting in July 2016, San Francisco, Calif., will require prominent warning labels on most sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) advertisements (i.e., “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay”). The purpose of this project is to collect baseline data on the presence and types of SSB print advertising visible in a sample More

The Use of Brand Mascots and Media Characters: Opportunities for Responsible Food Marketing to Children

This issue brief examines the evidence on how food, beverage, restaurant, and entertainment companies have used brand mascots and cartoon media characters to influence children’s diet and health. Brand mascots and media characters represent a broad range of human or fictional kid-friendly animals or animated objects used by companies to market their products. Many of More

Assessing Digital Food and Beverage Marketing in Middle Schools Nationally to Inform Policy to Restrict Marketers’ Access to Children

This study aims to assess school digital marketing environments in a national sample of middle schools to identify opportunities and barriers to limit school-based marketing. This team previously developed a survey to assess digital marketing in schools as part of a previous HER-funded grant which will be used in this study. The specific aims of More

Evaluating Front-of-Package Nutrition Labels on Low-Income Parents’ Comprehension of Product Healthfulness and on Consumers’ Purchasing Decisions

The aim of this study is to evaluate different Front-Of-Package labeling systems to determine which may lead consumers to make healthier purchasing decisions and increase consumer comprehension of product healthfulness. RTI Interntational has developed a virtual store environment, iSHOPPE™, which is a web-based three-dimensional consumer research tool that provides the benefit of having a realistic More

Sugar-Sweetened Beverage-Related Public Service Advertisements and Their Influence on Parents

There is substantial evidence that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is associated with weight gain in both children and adults. As a result, Public Service Announcements (PSAs) have been produced to both increase knowledge about the amount of sugar in drinks and to highlight the harmful effects of their overconsumption. This article explores the impact More

Evaluating Industry Self-Regulation of Food Marketing to Children

In response to growing concern about children’s exposure to unhealthy food advertising, the food industry adopted a program of self-regulation – the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) – with participating companies pledging to limit child-targeted advertising to healthier products. This study assesses the efficacy of industry self-regulation by comparing advertising content on children’s More