Digital marketing of products with poor nutritional quality: a major threat for children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: To identify general characteristics, the use of persuasive techniques, and the nutritional quality of Mexican digital marketing of food and beverages/brand with the greatest number of followers and views (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) with specific appeal to children/adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: Cross sectional, quantitative, exploratory, and descriptive study. METHODS: Multistep process to select a sample of 46 products with a Mexican website and major audiences on social networks. The energy and nutrient content of the foods and beverages were analyzed with the Pan American Health Organization Nutrient Profile Model. RESULTS: Cola and soft drinks, sweetened juices were the products with the greatest number of followers on Facebook and Twitter (13,321,274 and 1,020,504). Companies used diverse persuasive techniques combining promotional characters (79.1%), incentives (65.1%), and digital techniques (78.3%). Products with excess critical nutrients were most frequently advertised regardless of the type of social network and the marketing techniques used. CONCLUSION: Digital Marketing represents a major threat for children and adolescents in Mexico, and probably all over the world, because of its persuasive techniques, and it shall be regulated.

Pitfalls of the self-regulation of advertisements directed at children on Mexican television.

BACKGROUND: There are no academic studies that characterize advertisements directed at children from the companies that signed the self-regulation. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to assess the extent and nature of food advertisements and the persuasive techniques used to market unhealthy food and beverages (UFB) to children, by signatory companies of self-regulation. METHODS: From December 2012 to April 2013, 600 h of programming were recorded on the four broadcast public television channels in Mexico with the highest rating nationwide. Marketing aimed at children directly (broadcast on children's programmes or advertisements with a specific appeal to children) or indirectly (aimed at other target audiences with messages or scenes that link children to the product) were considered. RESULTS: About 74.9% (2148) of the total food and beverage advertisements tried to influence children directly and indirectly. Companies, which had signed the self-regulation, focused 92.7% of their advertisements on UFB. Of the total number, 23.9% were aimed at children, 7.1% at adolescents, 12.5% at parents and 56.2% at the general public. Most of these advertisements were broadcast on movies (29.8%), cartoons (18%), soap operas (17.6%), entertainment shows (17.2%) and sports programs (6.4%). CONCLUSION: Despite the self-regulation of television marketing, children were surrounded by UFB advertisements. Signatory companies influence children indirectly by targeting other audiences and by marketing during family television programs, which are also watched by children.