IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i21p11563-d671635.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Qualitative Analysis of Black and White Adolescents’ Perceptions of and Responses to Racially Targeted Food and Drink Commercials on Television

Author

Listed:
  • Alysa Miller

    (Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., 1059 BSB, Chicago, IL 60607, USA)

  • Omni Cassidy

    (Department of Population Health, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, 180 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, USA)

  • Tenay Greene

    (Department of Population Health, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, 180 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, USA)

  • Josh Arshonsky

    (Department of Population Health, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, 180 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, USA)

  • Stephanie L. Albert

    (Department of Population Health, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, 180 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, USA)

  • Marie A. Bragg

    (Department of Population Health, New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, 180 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, USA
    Department of Public Health Nutrition, NYU School of Global Public Health, 708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, USA)

Abstract

Food and beverage marketing is a major driver of childhood obesity, and companies target their least nutritious products to Black youth. However, little is known about adolescents’ perceptions of and responses to racially targeted food marketing. In this qualitative study, we investigated how Black and White adolescents perceived and responded to racially targeted television commercials for food and beverages. We recruited 39 adolescents aged 12–17 years in New York City to watch a series of commercials and then participate in an in-depth interview using a semi-structured interview guide. The research team recorded, transcribed, and analyzed interviews using ATLAS.ti. Overall, participants responded positively to commercials that featured celebrities. They were also able to recognize the commercials and reported they had been exposed to marketing from these companies on social media and in subways/buses. Many participants considered the advertised brands as healthy or able to enhance athletic performance because of their endorsement by or association with athletes. Participants also understood that marketers were using racial targeting in their ads but that targeting did not translate into improved perceptions or responses towards advertised products. These findings suggest the need to empirically evaluate and further explore Black and White adolescents’ responses to racially targeted food marketing.

Suggested Citation

  • Alysa Miller & Omni Cassidy & Tenay Greene & Josh Arshonsky & Stephanie L. Albert & Marie A. Bragg, 2021. "A Qualitative Analysis of Black and White Adolescents’ Perceptions of and Responses to Racially Targeted Food and Drink Commercials on Television," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-15, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:21:p:11563-:d:671635
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11563/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11563/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Katherine Isselmann DiSantis & Shiriki Kumanyika & Lori Carter-Edwards & Deborah Rohm Young & Sonya A. Grier & Vikki Lassiter, 2017. "Sensitizing Black Adult and Youth Consumers to Targeted Food Marketing Tactics in Their Environments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Grier, S.A. & Kumanyika, S.K., 2008. "The context for choice: Health implications of targeted food and beverage marketing to African Americans," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 98(9), pages 1616-1629.
    3. Marie A. Bragg & Brian Elbel & Marion Nestle, 2020. "Food Industry Donations to Academic Programs: A Cross-Sectional Examination of the Extent of Publicly Available Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Gloria Jiménez-Marín & Rodrigo Elías Zambrano & Araceli Galiano-Coronil & Rafael Ravina-Ripoll, 2020. "Food and Beverage Advertising Aimed at Spanish Children Issued through Mobile Devices: A Study from a Social Marketing and Happiness Management Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-20, July.
    5. Ksenia Silchenko & Søren Askegaard & Elena Cedrola, 2020. "Three Decades of Research in Health and Food Marketing: A Systematic Review," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 541-580, June.
    6. Harris, J.L. & Graff, S.K., 2012. "Protecting young people from junk food advertising: Implications of psychological research for first amendment law," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(2), pages 214-222.
    7. Rodrigo Elías Zambrano & Gloria Jiménez-Marín & Araceli Galiano-Coronil & Rafael Ravina-Ripoll, 2021. "Children, Media and Food. A New Paradigm in Food Advertising, Social Marketing and Happiness Management," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-14, March.
    8. Berezan, Orie & Krishen, Anjala S. & Agarwal, Shaurya & Kachroo, Pushkin, 2018. "The pursuit of virtual happiness: Exploring the social media experience across generations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 455-461.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhiyuan Yu & Kun Zhang, 2022. "The Determinants of Purchase Intention on Agricultural Products via Public-Interest Live Streaming for Farmers during COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-22, October.

    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. Katherine Isselmann DiSantis & Shiriki Kumanyika & Lori Carter-Edwards & Deborah Rohm Young & Sonya A. Grier & Vikki Lassiter, 2017. "Sensitizing Black Adult and Youth Consumers to Targeted Food Marketing Tactics in Their Environments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Gómez, Miguel I. & Ricketts, Katie D., 2013. "Food value chain transformations in developing countries: Selected hypotheses on nutritional implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 139-150.
    3. Yanwen Ruan & Yingjiao Xu & Hanna Lee, 2022. "Consumer Motivations for Luxury Fashion Rental: A Second-Order Factor Analysis Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Krishen, Anjala S. & Berezan, Orie & Agarwal, Shaurya & Kachroo, Pushkin & Raschke, Robyn, 2021. "The digital self and virtual satisfaction: A cross-cultural perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 254-263.
    5. Tarabashkina, Liudmila & Quester, Pascale & Crouch, Roberta, 2016. "Exploring the moderating effect of children's nutritional knowledge on the relationship between product evaluations and food choice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 145-152.
    6. Ortiz, Selena E. & Zimmerman, Frederick J. & Adler, Gary J., 2016. "Increasing public support for food-industry related, obesity prevention policies: The role of a taste-engineering frame and contextualized values," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 142-153.
    7. Savdeep Vasudeva, 2023. "Age in the Acceptance of Mobile Social Media: A Comparison of Generation Y and Baby Boomers Using UTAUT2 Model," International Journal of E-Adoption (IJEA), IGI Global, vol. 15(1), pages 1-24, January.
    8. Sean Lucan & Nandita Mitra, 2012. "Perceptions of the food environment are associated with fast-food (not fruit-and-vegetable) consumption: findings from multi-level models," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 57(3), pages 599-608, June.
    9. Saura, José Ramón & Palacios-Marqués, Daniel & Iturricha-Fernández, Agustín, 2021. "Ethical design in social media: Assessing the main performance measurements of user online behavior modification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 271-281.
    10. Krishen, Anjala S. & Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Bindu, N. & Kumar, K. Satheesh, 2021. "A broad overview of interactive digital marketing: A bibliometric network analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 183-195.
    11. Lana Medina, 2024. "“Fridays Are Racist”: Evaluating Social Media Engagement From a Virtue Ethics Framework," International Journal of Technoethics (IJT), IGI Global, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, January.
    12. Rodrigo Elías Zambrano & Gloria Jiménez-Marín & Araceli Galiano-Coronil & Rafael Ravina-Ripoll, 2021. "Children, Media and Food. A New Paradigm in Food Advertising, Social Marketing and Happiness Management," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-14, March.
    13. Paolo Franco, 2023. "Older consumers and technology: A critical systematic literature review," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 13(1), pages 92-121, June.
    14. Zihan Yang & Xu Cai & Yujia Jiang & Guobiao Li & Guojing Zhao & Peng Wang & Zhaoxin Huang, 2022. "What Are the Recipes of an Entrepreneur’s Subjective Well-Being? A Fuzzy-Set Approach for China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.
    15. Zaynel Sushil & Stefanie Vandevijvere & Daniel J. Exeter & Boyd Swinburn, 2017. "Food swamps by area socioeconomic deprivation in New Zealand: a national study," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 62(8), pages 869-877, November.
    16. Pablo Farías, 2020. "The Use of Fear versus Hope in Health Advertisements: The Moderating Role of Individual Characteristics on Subsequent Health Decisions in Chile," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-15, December.
    17. Olga Untilov & Stéphane Ganassali, 2020. "Product‐harm science communication: The halo effect and its moderators," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 1002-1027, September.
    18. Mendini, Monica & Peter, Paula C. & Maione, Salvatore, 2022. "The potential positive effects of time spent on Instagram on consumers’ gratitude, altruism, and willingness to donate," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 16-26.
    19. Pires, Guilherme & Stanton, John, 2015. "Ethnic Marketing Sensitivity: Reconciling Rigorous Theory With Pragmatism," Newcastle Business School Discussion Paper Series: Research on the Frontiers of Knowledge 3, The University of Newcastle, Australia.
    20. Gentina, Elodie & Chen, Rui & Yang, Zhiyong, 2021. "Development of theory of mind on online social networks: Evidence from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 652-666.

    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:18:y:2021:i:21:p:11563-:d:671635. 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.