Michele Roberts

A thematic content analysis of children's food advertising

(2007). A thematic content analysis of children’s food advertising. International Journal of Advertising: Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 357-367.

Addressing loneliness in later life.

Objectives: Social and solitary pastimes with the potential to ameliorate the experience of loneliness among older individuals were investigated for the purpose of informing future interventions designed to reduce the negative consequences of social isolation. Method: Nineteen individual interviews with Australians aged 65 years and older. Results: Several pastimes were described by interviewees as instrumental in determining whether the increasing social isolation they experience in older age results in feelings of emotional isolation and thus of loneliness. Conclusion: The specific behaviours that were found to ameliorate loneliness included utilizing friends and family as an emotional resource, engaging in eating and drinking rituals as a means of maintaining social contacts, and spending time constructively by reading and gardening. Specific recommendations are provided for interventions designed to prevent and treat loneliness among older people.

The extent and nature of alcohol advertising on Australian television.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Current alcohol guidelines in Australia recommend minimising alcohol consumption, especially among minors. This study investigated (i) the extent to which children and the general population are exposed to television advertisements that endorse alcohol consumption and (ii) the themes used in these advertisements. DESIGN AND METHODS A content analysis was conducted on alcohol advertisements aired over two months in major Australian cities. The advertisements were coded according to the products that were promoted, the themes that were employed, and the time of exposure. Advertising placement expenditure was also captured. RESULTS In total, 2810 alcohol advertisements were aired, representing one in 10 beverage advertisements. Advertisement placement expenditure for alcohol products in the five cities over the two months was

The effects of television and Internet food advertising on parents and children

15.8 million. Around half of all alcohol advertisements appeared during childrens popular viewing times. The most common themes used were humour, friendship/mateship and value for money. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Children and adults are regularly exposed to advertisements that depict alcohol consumption as fun, social and inexpensive. Such messages may reinforce existing alcohol-related cultural norms that prevent many Australians from meeting current intake guidelines.

Compliance with children’s television food advertising regulations in Australia

OBJECTIVE The current study examined the impact of television and Internet food advertising on Australian parents and children. DESIGN Parents and their children aged 8 to 14 years were exposed to a television advertisement, an Internet advertisement or a control picture for four commonly advertised energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. SETTING Online web panel survey, Australia. SUBJECTS Parents (n 1302) and their children aged 8 to 14 years (n 1302). RESULTS After a single exposure to each advertisement, parent respondents in the two exposure conditions evaluated the products more favourably, had a greater desire to consume the products and thought the product could be consumed more frequently than those in the control condition. Similar trends were observed among children, although the differences were statistically significant only for the frequency of food consumption in the Internet advertisement condition and the evaluation of one product. CONCLUSIONS The results have implications for assumptions of adults’ immunity to advertising. This is of particular importance in efforts to address child obesity and the reliance on parents to mediate the effects of food advertising.

The use of negative themes in television food advertising

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian co-regulatory system in limiting children’s exposure to unhealthy television food advertising by measuring compliance with mandatory and voluntary regulations. An audit was conducted on food and beverage television advertisements broadcast in five major Australian cities during children’s programming time from 1st September 2010 to 31st October 2010. The data were assessed against mandatory and voluntary advertising regulations, the information contained in an industry report of breaches, and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.ResultsDuring the two months of data collection there were a total of 951 breaches of the combined regulations. This included 619 breaches of the mandatory regulations (CTS) and 332 breaches of the voluntary regulations (RCMI and QSRI). Almost 83% of all food and beverages advertised during children’s programming times were for foods classified as ‘Extras’ in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. There were also breaches in relation to the amount of advertising repetition and the use of promotional appeals such as premium offers, competitions, and endorsements by popular children’s characters. The self-regulatory systems were found to have flaws in their reporting and there were errors in the Australian Food and Grocery Council’s compliance report.ConclusionsThis audit suggests that current advertising regulations are inadequate. Regulations need to be closely monitored and more tightly enforced to protect children from advertisements for unhealthy foods.

Mothers’ attitudes towards toys as fast food premiums

The ability of food advertising to trigger food consumption and influence social norms relating to food consumption has resulted in increasing attention being given to the prevalence and nature of food advertising. The present study investigated the use of negative themes in food advertisements aired on Australian television to determine the prevalence of depictions of violence/aggression, mocking, nagging, boredom, loneliness, food craving, mood enhancement, and the emotional use of food across 61 days of programming time. The results suggest that advertisers are using negative themes to capture attention and invoke an emotional response in the target audience. Sixteen percent (14,611) of the 93,284 food advertisements contained negative themes, with mood enhancement and food craving being the most commonly depicted negative themes. Advertisements with negative themes were more likely to be for non-core foods and to be aired during childrens popular viewing times than at other times. The potential for negative themes in food advertising to promote unhealthy food consumption behaviors among children is likely to be of concern to policy makers. Building on this exploratory study, further research is needed to investigate how nutrition-related decision making is affected by exposure to food advertisements employing negative emotional themes.

Children's exposure to food advertising: An analysis of the effectiveness of self‐regulatory codes in Australia

Purpose – To explore mothers’ attitudes to fast food companies’ use of toy premiums as a marketing technique.Design/methodology/approach – Two focus groups and 12 individual interviews were conducted with 21 mothers of young children.Findings – The mothers considered toy premiums to be a highly effective form of marketing targeted at their children. Such purchase incentives stimulate a constant barrage of requests that parents must manage.Research limitations/implications – If parents are to successfully perform their role of food providers to address escalating rates of childhood obesity, they need assistance to counter‐balance the highly effective forms of marketing being employed by fast food companies.Practical implications – The findings have relevance for public policy makers in their efforts to assess the impacts of various promotional activities targeted at children. They are also useful for food marketers as they suggest how product offerings may be differentiated to better meet parents’ preferen...

Psychosocial Influences on Children's Food Consumption

Aim The aim of this study was to update knowledge about childrens exposure to televised food advertising in Australia, providing a more comprehensive examination of childrens exposure since the introduction of self-regulatory codes. Methods Two months of food advertisement data from four free-to-air television stations (SBS, Seven Network, Nine Network and Ten Network) in the five largest Australian cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) were purchased and analysed. A content analysis was performed to classify the advertised products into food groups according to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and whether they were scheduled in childrens popular viewing times (CPVT) according to audience viewing data from OzTam. They were also assessed as to whether they included a premium offer (free incentive). The 2 months of data covered September and October 2010 and included 43 weekdays, 18 weekend days and 15 days of school holidays. Results In total, 93 284 food advertisements, including repeat airings, were analysed from 1464 hours of continuous programming. The majority (63%) included non-core foods. During CPVT, this figure was significantly higher at 65% versus 61% outside CPVT. Within CPVT, the percentage of advertisements was higher for quick-service restaurants (30% vs 26%) and unhealthy beverages (3% vs 2%). Fifteen per cent of all advertisements were for sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Premiums were still apparent (10% vs 8%) despite being restricted by the codes. Conclusions Australian children continue to be exposed to a large amount of advertising for non-core foods, despite the introduction of voluntary codes.