Kids, Caregivers, and Cartoons: The Impact of Licensed Characters on Food Choices and Consumption
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This research examines effects of on-package licensed characters on children鈥檚 and caregivers鈥� choices of healthy and indulgent food and children鈥檚 consumption amount. The authors propose that food liking exerts the greatest influence on children鈥檚 choices and consumption, such that the impact of on-package characters will be limited to choices between equally liked options. Caregivers鈥� choices are primarily influenced by their food goals for their children; thus, the impact of characters will likewise be limited to caregivers鈥� within-category choices. Two experiments show that a character influences children鈥檚 choices between two same-category options but not between indulgent and healthier options. A third experiment reveals that food liking influences amount consumed, while the presence of a character influences neither amount consumed nor food liking. Two additional experiments show that characters influence caregivers鈥� choice between the same foods, but not between different food types or intention to purchase a food. The expanded framework for the effects of licensed characters鈥攖aking into account choice versus consumption, children versus caregivers, and healthy versus unhealthy foods鈥攅nhances understanding for consumers, practitioners, and policy makers.
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Leonard, Bridget, Margaret C. Campbell, and Kenneth Manning (2019), 鈥淜ids, Caregivers and Cartoons: The Impact of Licensed Characters on Food Choices and Consumption,鈥� Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 38(2): 214-231. doi: 10.1177/0743915619827919
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