Research
Original Research
Advertising Placement in Digital Game Design Influences Children’s Choices of Advertised Snacks: A Randomized Trial

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2019.07.017Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Children are inhabitants of a media-rich environment rife in extensive, sophisticated, and persistent techniques that are used to market unhealthy food. Exposure is known to influence children’s attitudes, choices, and consumption, yet further research is required to explore the influence of contemporary techniques within online games.

Objective

To explore the influence of modern advertising on children’s attitudes, choices, and consumption, techniques (ie, banner advertising, advergame, and rewarded video advertising) were used to promote an unfamiliar confectionery brand within an online game.

Design

A between-subjects randomized experimental study.

Participants/setting

Children (aged 7 to 12 years [n=156]) were recruited in New South Wales, Australia, between September and November 2017.

Intervention

Children were required to play a 4-minute online game, complete some questionnaires, and choose one snack to consume afterward. Children were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: a control group with no advertising, and three experimental conditions that promoted an unfamiliar confectionery brand via a banner advertisement, advergame, or rewarded video advertisement.

Main outcome measures

Questionnaires included the assessment of attitudes to the test brand before and after the game, enjoyment of the game, and children’s awareness of advertising. Food choice was recorded and food consumption was measured by weighing the snack in grams, which was translated into kilocalories.

Statistical analyses performed

Statistical tests included analyses of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test, and χ2 test.

Results

Attitudes toward the perception of fun (P=0.06) and taste (P=0.21) of the test brand were not influenced by condition. Children who were exposed to the rewarded video advertising chose the test brand significantly more than children in the other three conditions (P<0.002). Condition did not influence overall energy intake measured in grams (P=0.78) or kilocalories (P=0.46).

Conclusions

Children’s choice of the test brand was significantly influenced by the rewarded video advertising condition (compared with control, banner advertising, and advergame conditions). This technique is prevalent across online and application games that children play yet the effects of using rewarded video advertising to promote food brands have not been explored from a public health perspective. This study contributes to the understanding of modern strategies used to market unhealthy foods to children.

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the University of Wollongong Human Research Ethics Committee (HE17-311) and the study was prospectively registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12617001313325, on September 17, 2017).

Participants aged 7 to 12 years were recruited via opportunistic sampling, including two childcare organizations (a University of Wollongong school holiday camp, and an afterschool care provider) in the Illawarra region, New

Sample Characteristics

One hundred fifty-six participants aged 7 to 12 years (85 men, age 8.7±1.5 years) were recruited (Table 1). Forty-six percent of participants participated at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute at the University of Wollongong (29% general public and 17% the University of Wollongong’s school holiday camp), and the remaining 54% of participants were recruited from five afterschool centers across the Illawarra region. The Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas Index of Disadvantage for

Discussion

This study explored the influence of persuasive advertising techniques and placement within game designs that are commonly used in online games to promote food and beverages. The findings highlighted that persuasive and modern techniques, specifically those that overtly incorporate advertising into the game experience such as rewarded video advertising strategies, directly influence children to choose unhealthy advertised foods immediately after acute online game exposure. Comparatively, in the

Conclusions

This research contributes new evidence that demonstrates the persuasive influence of food marketing exposure on children’s food behaviors through the medium of online gaming. It highlights that it is not simply exposure to a brand that influences children’s brand awareness, attitudes, and choices, but also how branded messages are delivered in highly sophisticated advertising techniques. Specifically, children were not influenced by banner advertising or advergames, but by a technique that

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Peak Sport and Learning OSHC as well as Lee Murray and his team at the University of Wollongong School Holiday Camp for their flexibility and willingness to partner with the authors on the project. The authors also thank their research assistant and Liam Frappell for collaborating on the build of the online game, Marijka Batterham for her statistical expertise and advice, and the study participants, without whom the study would not have been possible.

Author Contributions

B. Kelly was the chief

R. Smith is a public health researcher, Early Start, School of Health and Society, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

References (61)

  • B. Kelly et al.

    A hierarchy of unhealthy food promotion effects: Identifying methodological approaches and knowledge gaps

    Am J Public Health

    (2015)
  • Scaling up Action against Noncommunicable Diseases: How Much Will it Cost?

    (2011)
  • K. Kostyrka-Allchorne et al.

    Touchscreen generation: Children's current media use, parental supervision methods and attitudes towards contemporary media

    Acta Paediatr

    (2017)
  • A. Sigman

    We Need to Talk: Screen Time in New Zealand

    (2015)
  • Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report

    (2018)
  • T. Wijman

    New gaming boom: Newzoo ups its 2017 global games market estimate to $116.0Bn growing to $143.5Bn in 2020

  • A review of food marketing to children and adolescents: Follow-up report

  • M. Potvin Kent et al.

    The effectiveness of self-regulation in limiting the advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages on children's preferred websites in Canada

    Public Health Nutr

    (2018)
  • B. Kelly et al.

    Internet food marketing on popular children's websites and food product websites in Australia

    Public Health Nutr

    (2008)
  • Jourová V. European Commission. The Impact of Online Marketing on Children’s Behaviour Fact Sheet. 2016....
  • Ad banner definition

  • S.K. Balasubramanian

    Beyond advertising and publicity: Hybrid messages and public policy issues

    J Advert

    (1994)
  • Advergame definition

  • A.E. Ustjanauskas et al.

    Food and beverage advertising on children's web sites

    Pediatr Obes

    (2014)
  • M. Ali et al.

    Young children's ability to recognize advertisements in web page designs

    Br J Dev Psychol

    (2009)
  • M. Lee et al.

    Leading national advertisers uses of advergames

    J Curr Issues Res Advert

    (2008)
  • Advergame definition

  • I. Vanwesenbeeck et al.

    Children and advergames: The role of product involvement, prior brand attitude, persuasion knowledge and game attitude in purchase intentions and changing attitudes

    Int J Advert

    (2017)
  • L. Shrum

    The Psychology of Entertainment Media: Blurring the Lines Between Entertainment and Persuasion

    (2012)
  • S.L. Coates et al.

    Implicit memory and consumer choice: The mediating role of brand familiarity

    Appl Cogn Psychol

    (2006)
  • Cited by (25)

    • Position of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior: Healthful Food for Children is the Same as Adults

      2022, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
      Citation Excerpt :

      The pervasive and widespread influence of this messaging could be leveraged to mobilize collective efforts aimed at improving social constructs, particularly those related to kids’ food.55,94 Even more fundamentally, this messaging should frame childhood nutrition as a societal issue in which individuals work with the government, schools, and industry to identify and implement solutions.96,97 Nutrition educators can help shape health promotion messaging about kids’ meals to include societal-level policy solutions, such as healthy default menu options and menu labeling.

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    R. Smith is a public health researcher, Early Start, School of Health and Society, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

    B. Kelly is an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow, Early Start, School of Health and Society, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

    H. Yeatman is a professor of public health, School of Health and Society, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

    C. Moore is a senior lecturer, School of Arts, English, and Media, Faculty of Law, Humanities, and the Arts, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

    L. Baur is a professor and head of Child and Adolescent Health, Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

    L. King is an adjunct associate professor, Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

    A. Bauman is Sesquicenenary Professor of Public Health, Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

    E. Boyland is a senior lecturer of psychological sciences, Institute of Psychology, School of Health and Society, University of Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom.

    K. Chapman is an honorary associate, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, and a conjoint senior lecturer, Faculty of Science, School of Medicine, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and a conjoint senior lecturer, Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

    C. Hughes is the nutrition programme manager, Cancer Council New South Wales, Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia.

    STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

    FUNDING/SUPPORT This research was supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council (LP140100120) and the Cancer Council New South Wales (Linkage Grant Partner). The Australian Research Council played no part in the study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; or the decision to submit for publication.

    The study was prospectively registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12617001313325 on September 13, 2017).

    View full text