Can counter-advertising diminish persuasive effects of conventional and pseudo-healthy unhealthy food product advertising on parents?: an experimental study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To help address rising rates of obesity in children, evidence is needed concerning impacts of common forms of marketing for unhealthy child-oriented food products and the efficacy of educational interventions in counteracting any detrimental impacts of such marketing. This study aims to explore parents' responses to advertising for unhealthy children's food products that employ different types of persuasive appeals and test whether a counter-advertising intervention exposing industry motives and marketing strategies can bolster parents' resistance to influence by unhealthy product advertising. METHODS: N = 1613 Australian parents were randomly assigned to view online either a: (A..