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Promotion of Food and Beverages by German-Speaking Influencers Popular with Adolescents on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram

Author

Listed:
  • Eva Winzer

    (Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

  • Brigitte Naderer

    (Department of Media & Communication, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany)

  • Simeon Klein

    (Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

  • Leah Lercher

    (Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

  • Maria Wakolbinger

    (Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

Abstract

The promotion of nutritionally poor food and beverages (F&B) has a proven effect on children’s eating preferences and, therefore, plays a significant role in today’s childhood obesity epidemic. This study’s objective was to assess the prevalence (exposure) and context (power) of the F&B cues in influencer content across three platforms: TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. The selected influencers were popular with adolescents, with a combined total of more than 34 million followers/subscribers. We employed the YouTube Influencer Marketing Protocol from the World Health Organization (WHO) as our basis for coding. We analysed a total of 360 videos/posts and, of these, 24% contained F&B cues, which is equivalent to 18.1 F&B cues/hour. In total, 77% of the cues were not permitted for children’s advertising, according to WHO criteria, and this was stable across all platforms, with chocolate and sugary confectionery (23%) as the most frequently featured products. Not-permitted F&B had a four-times higher chance of being branded, a five-times higher chance of being described positively, and received significantly more ‘likes’. In 62% of the analysed presentations, the branded product was mentioned, yet only 6% of the content was labelled as advertising. The present analysis delivers further grounds for discussion for policies and regulations of influencer marketing.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:17:p:10911-:d:903994
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    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. Nongnuch Jaichuen & Vuthiphan Vongmongkol & Rapeepong Suphanchaimat & Nonglapat Sasiwatpaisit & Viroj Tangcharoensathien, 2019. "Food Marketing in Facebook to Thai Children and Youth: An Assessment of the Efficacy of Thai Regulations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-15, April.
    3. John, Deborah Roedder, 1999. "Consumer Socialization of Children: A Retrospective Look at Twenty-Five Years of Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 26(3), pages 183-213, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. Monika Pettersen-Sobczyk, 2023. "Social Media Influencer Marketing in the Food Industry: A Spatial Distribution of Research," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 246-260.
    3. Lies Sercu, 2024. "Social Media Influencers, Health Literacy, and Food Literacy: A Correlational Study Among Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(12), pages 1-12, December.

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