IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i19p7231-d423247.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Devil Is in the Detail: Challenging the UK Government’s 2019 Impact Assessment of the Extent of Online Marketing of Unhealthy Foods to Children

Author

Listed:
  • Mimi Tatlow-Golden

    (Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK)

  • Daniel Parker

    (Living Loud, Brighton, Sussex BN1 3SU, UK)

Abstract

Background: How much unhealthy marketing do children see on digital devices? Marketing of unhealthy food and beverages has long been identified as a factor in children’s preferences, purchase requests and consumption. Rising global obesity mandates States to craft environments that protect children and young people’s health, as recommended by the World Health Organization, among others. However, assessing the impact of marketing restrictions is particularly challenging: the complexity of digital advertising markets means that measurement challenges are profound. In 2019, the UK Department of Health published an Impact Assessment that applied a novel method aiming to calculate costs and benefits of restricting unhealthy food and beverage advertising on digital devices (planned for implementation by 2022). It estimated UK digital unhealthy marketing to children at 0.73 billion advertising impressions annually, compared to television impacts of 3.6 billion. Aim and Method: We assessed this conclusion by reviewing the UK Department of Health/Kantar Consulting’s Online Baseline Methodology (the “Government Model”). We examined the model’s underlying premise and specified the seven analytic steps undertaken. For each step, we reviewed industry and academic evidence to test its assumptions and the validity of data applied. Results: We found that, in each step, the Government Model’s assumptions, and the data sources selected, result in underestimates of the scale of digital advertising of unhealthy foods—at least tenfold, if not substantially more. The model’s underlying premise is also problematic, as digital advertising spend data relate poorly to digital advertising exposure , leading to further underestimation of market scale. Conclusion: We conclude that the Government Model very substantially underestimates the impact of digital unhealthy food advertising restrictions on health. This analysis has relevance for global policy and for the impact of regulation on children’s health and well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Mimi Tatlow-Golden & Daniel Parker, 2020. "The Devil Is in the Detail: Challenging the UK Government’s 2019 Impact Assessment of the Extent of Online Marketing of Unhealthy Foods to Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-20, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:19:p:7231-:d:423247
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/19/7231/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/19/7231/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gráinne Murphy & Ciara Corcoran & Mimi Tatlow-Golden & Emma Boyland & Brendan Rooney, 2020. "See, Like, Share, Remember: Adolescents’ Responses to Unhealthy-, Healthy- and Non-Food Advertising in Social Media," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-25, March.
    2. Kelly, B. & King, L. & Chapman, K. & Boyland, E. & Bauman, A.E. & Baur, L.A., 2015. "A hierarchy of unhealthy food promotion effects: Identifying methodological approaches and knowledge gaps," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(4), pages 86-95.
    3. Paul M. Connell & Merrie Brucks & Jesper H. Nielsen, 2014. "How Childhood Advertising Exposure Can Create Biased Product Evaluations That Persist into Adulthood," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(1), pages 119-134.
    4. Montgomery, Kathryn C., 2015. "Youth and surveillance in the Facebook era: Policy interventions and social implications," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 771-786.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gráinne Murphy & Ciara Corcoran & Mimi Tatlow-Golden & Emma Boyland & Brendan Rooney, 2020. "See, Like, Share, Remember: Adolescents’ Responses to Unhealthy-, Healthy- and Non-Food Advertising in Social Media," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-25, March.
    2. Vecchi, Martina & Fan, Linlin & Keller, Kathleen & Myruski, Sarah & Nayga, Rudolfo M. Jr. & Yang, Wei, 2022. "Understanding the Impact of Online Food Advertisements and Emotions on Adolescents’ Food Choices," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322151, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Landwehr, Stefanie C. & Hartmann, Monika, 2016. "Does self regulation work? The case of television food advertisement to children in Germany," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235881, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Yura Kim & Taeyeon Kim & Hye-Jeong Nam, 2021. "Marketing Investments and Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-12, April.
    5. Cozac, Marina & Mende, Martin & Scott, Maura L., 2023. "Consumer preferences for fuel snacks at the intersection of caregiving stress and gender," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    6. Mehta, Ritu & Bharadwaj, Apoorva, 2021. "Food advertising targeting children in India: Analysis and implications," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    7. Chester, Jeff & Montgomery, Kathryn C., 2019. "The digital commercialisation of US politics — 2020 and beyond," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 8(4), pages 1-23.
    8. Potvin Kent, Monique & Mulligan, Christine & Pauzé, Elise & Pinto, Adena & Remedios, Lauren, 2024. "The food and beverage marketing monitoring framework for Canada: Development, implementation, and gaps," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    9. Juliana de Paula Matos & Michele Bittencourt Rodrigues & Camila Kümmel Duarte & Paula Martins Horta, 2023. "A Scoping Review of Observational Studies on Food and Beverage Advertising on Social Media: A Public Health Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-22, February.
    10. Hogreve, Jens & Matta, Shashi & Hettich, Alexander S. & Reczek, Rebecca Walker, 2021. "How Do Social Norms Influence Parents’ Food Choices for Their Children? The Role of Social Comparison and Implicit Self-Theories," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 173-190.
    11. Elena Bozzola & Giulia Spina & Rino Agostiniani & Sarah Barni & Rocco Russo & Elena Scarpato & Antonio Di Mauro & Antonella Vita Di Stefano & Cinthia Caruso & Giovanni Corsello & Annamaria Staiano, 2022. "The Use of Social Media in Children and Adolescents: Scoping Review on the Potential Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-33, August.
    12. Eva Winzer & Brigitte Naderer & Simeon Klein & Leah Lercher & Maria Wakolbinger, 2022. "Promotion of Food and Beverages by German-Speaking Influencers Popular with Adolescents on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-13, September.
    13. Phua, Peilin & Kennedy, Rachel & Trinh, Giang & Page, Bill & Hartnett, Nicole, 2020. "Examining older consumers’ loyalty towards older brands in grocery retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    14. Elise Pauzé & Odera Ekeh & Monique Potvin Kent, 2020. "The Extent and Nature of Food and Beverage Company Sponsorship of Children’s Sports Clubs in Canada: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-11, April.
    15. Dana E. Wagner & Gabrielle Seneres & Elisabeth Jones & Kelli A. Brodersen & Sjonna Whitsitt-Paulson, 2022. "Swap Up Your Meal: A Mass Media Nutrition Education Campaign for Oklahoma Teens," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-16, August.
    16. Engel, Elena & Gell, Sascha & Heiss, Raffael & Karsay, Kathrin, 2024. "Social media influencers and adolescents’ health: A scoping review of the research field," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    17. I. D. Brouwer & M. J. Liere & A. Brauw & P. Dominguez-Salas & A. Herforth & G. Kennedy & C. Lachat & E. B. Omosa & E. F. Talsma & S. Vandevijvere & J. Fanzo & M. Ruel, 2021. "Reverse thinking: taking a healthy diet perspective towards food systems transformations," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(6), pages 1497-1523, December.
    18. Zeng, Tian & Botella-Carrubi, Dolores, 2023. "Improving societal benefit through transformative consumer research: A descriptive review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    19. Sarah Spiekermann & Hanna Krasnova & Oliver Hinz & Annika Baumann & Alexander Benlian & Henner Gimpel & Irina Heimbach & Antonia Köster & Alexander Maedche & Björn Niehaves & Marten Risius & Manuel Tr, 2022. "Values and Ethics in Information Systems," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 64(2), pages 247-264, April.
    20. Spiekermann, Sarah & Krasnova, Hanna & Hinz, Oliver & Baumann, Annika & Benlian, Alexander & Gimpel, Henner & Heimbach, Irina & Köster, Antonia & Maedche, Alexander & Niehaves, Björn & Risius, Marten , 2022. "Values and Ethics in Information Systems – A State-of-the-Art Analysis and Avenues for Future Research," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 130842, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:19:p:7231-:d:423247. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.