The Influence of Media Characters on Children's Food Choices

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to assess the role of media characters in influencing children's food choices; the first focused on children's self-reported preference, whereas the second focused on actual choice. The results of the experiments suggest that popular characters can make a difference in encouraging children to select one food over another. In the first experiment, children were more likely to indicate a preference for one food over another when one was associated with characters that they liked and with whom they were familiar. This effect was particularly strong when a sugary or salty snack branded by a favored character was competing with a healthier option branded by an unknown character or no character. Alternatively, when children were asked to choose between a healthy food and a sugary or salty snack, branding of the healthy food with a favored character did not significantly change appeal of that healthy snack. However, when foods within the same category (i.e., 2 vegetables, 2 fruits, or 2 grains) were asked to compete against each other, character branding strongly influenced children's food choice. Findings from the second experiment suggest that children are more willing to try more pieces of a healthy food if a favored character, in comparison with an unknown character, is promoting that food.

Acknowledgments

These studies were funded by a grant to the Sesame Workshop from the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation. The authors thank Lewis Bernstein, Abby Bloch, David Cohen, Jaime Greenberg, Susan Royer, and Rosemarie Truglio for their insights on various parts of this article. The authors also thank all of the participating schools and centers who welcomed them into their classrooms.

Notes

Note. Numbers in parentheses are standard errors.