The food industry uses several different forms of advertising to increase sales of food products. Because most of the advertised foods are unhealthy, food advertising can indirectly affect an individual’s eating behavior. The aim of this master's thesis was to determine, whether there is a link between food advertising and product selection in adolescents. We researched which advertisements are most likely to attract young people and what marketing strategies are often used in these ads. We also researched if there is dissimilarity in the choice of advertised food products between male and female consumers. For this purpose, we randomly selected various advertisements of different food products, assessed their nutritional profile using the method of traffic light labeling and the Veš, kaj ješ app. Finally, we distributed an online survey among adolescents. The study involved 177 adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. The ratio of male to female was 73:27, so we equated the answers and found out that the received answers did not differ significantly from the original ratio. Consequently, we analyzed the entire sample and found a linkage between food advertising and product selection in adolescents. Advertisements which contains elements as music, an interesting story, vivid colors, and involved celebrities are more engaging to adolescents and, as a result, can influence the purchase of a particular food product. However, adolescents are aware that food advertising is mainly about unhealthy foods or lower-quality foods which may lead to an increase in obesity. Based on the provided answers, women are slightly more aware of this fact, since they expressed greater agreement with the claims about the impact of food advertising on the choice of the advertised products and consequently about the impact on their eating habits.
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