This may not be news to parents of small kids, but branding is a potent force even among preschool children. A new study of preschoolers in California shows that kids will even eat carrot sticks if they come in a McDonald’s wrapper.
Researchers tested 63 preschoolers from low-income families in California. The children were each given two identical samples of three foods from McDonald’s, one in branded wrappers and the other in identical packaging bearing no brand. They were also given milk and carrots.
About 77 per cent of children said they preferred the taste of the french fries in the McDonald’s bag, while only 13.3 per cent favoured the fries in the plain bag. Only 10 per cent said they thought the two offerings tasted the same.
When the chicken nuggets were served, 59 per cent said they preferred the taste of those in the McDonald’s branded box, while 18 per cent thought the plainly wrapped nuggets tasted better. [From The Sydney Morning Herald – Healthy food: wrap it in fast food trappings.]
Dr. Jenny O’Dea, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Sydney, said firms like McDonalds were successful “because they understood that children loved food which appealed to their senses.” Based on sensory branding principles, this may indeed be part of the reason. The Coalition on Food Advertising to Children, who, despite their name, doesn’t seem to like advertising, blamed the massive amount of marketing directed at children.
In coverage of the story in the Deseret News, it’s noted that McDonalds has voluntarily established limits on its marketing to young children, and will promote only healthier fare. Critics still abound, though:
Dr. Victor Strasburger, an author of an American Academy of Pediatrics policy urging limits on marketing to children, said the study shows too little is being done.
“It’s an amazing study and it’s very sad,” Strasburger said.
“Advertisers have tried to do exactly what this study is talking about” to brand younger and younger children, to instill in them an almost obsessional desire for a particular brand-name product,” he said.
The takeaway from this study is that branding is indeed significant, even at preschool ages; heavy marketing to this group, though, may raise ethical issues and may draw fire from critics.
One test they didn’t run was to compare the preschoolers’ preference for “branded” carrot sticks vs. “generic” french fries. I’m guessing the fries would win hands down. There are limits to the potency of even the most powerful brands. 🙂
Great post and an alarming insight (though most of us would probably already know). I have a preschooler myself and he is already indoctrinated in the ways of the french fries done American style with the big M. Love your last twist on carrot sticks (or celery for that matter) versus the other “vegetable”.
This is just amazing. I know my son loves the apples that McDonalds have – it’s funny though. He made a comment the other day, “mom, these apples are so much better than the ones you buy at the store.” I couldn’t help but laugh.
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[…] preschoolers given a choice between identical batches of food choose the one in the McDonalds wrapper and say that it tastes […]
[…] children are subject to the powerful influence of brand perception. In a study some years ago, 77 per cent of children offered three bags of identical French fries preferred the taste of the frie…. Adults are no less immune. Time and again, studies have shown how a higher price associated with a […]