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Baby Carrots knows what to do to get kids to eat healthy: market fresh veggies like junkfood. (Photo from twitter.com/babycarrots)
Can you recognize a junk-food logo at a glance and instantly know the food connected with the brand?
A preschooler can.
A new study on childhood food preferences reveals that kids are fully aware of the brand names that market to them, and the kids associate the brands with the foods they like to eat—namely, ones high in fat, sugar, and salt.
More than 100 preschool-aged children met with T. Bettina Cornwell, a marketing professor from the University of Oregon, and Anna R. McAlister, a consumer-science researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The researchers laid 36 cards displaying food items before the children and asked them to identify where the foods came from. Every child was able to match at least a few foods with their brands.
The bad news? “The research suggests there is a link between fast-food and pop-brand awareness and a child’s preference for salt, sugar and fat in food,” reports Suite 101.
The good news? The same targeted marketing tactics can work to promote healthy food. Just ask the baby carrots campaign.
Via: takepart.com
