What is most important to kids? Developmental differences in responses to spokescharacter appearance and behavior associated with nutritional content of food-product advertising targeting children

Media coverage and scholarly research indicate no greater topic of public health concern than the issue of obesity in America. The obesity trend often focuses on moderating factors influencing weight gain, with specific criticisms directed at the intense amounts of food advertising targeting children. Younger members of society, who have immature cognitive abilities that may be incapable of recognizing persuasive messages and lack self restraint in appraising advertisements and marketing tactics deserve research attention as advertising increasingly influences the majority of family purchase decisions, especially for food products and dining options.;The present study sheds additional insight into the growing body of literature on advertising to children. One prominent tactic used by advertisers when targeting children is the use of spokescharacters. The purpose of this research is to identify which of three independent variables---spokescharacter appearance, spokescharacter behavior, or nutritional content of the advertised food product---is most influential in terms of purchase influence/intention with children. Piaget's cognitive developmental theory (1929/1951), provides a general theoretical framework to explain pivotal advertising comprehension and recognition differences among children in the concrete operational age range of 6- to 12-years olds. Stimuli were created featuring an original animated spokescharacter marketing a food-product-a fictional breakfast cereal via a 30-second commercial.;Two hundred fifty-eight children (N = 258) participated in this experiment, which employed a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 factorial, between-subjects design. Overall, results showed a main effect for one of the three independent variables, spokescharacter behavior. This behavior was significantly related to the dependent variable of purchase influence/intention. Younger concrete operational children were more likely to indicate wanting to purchase the advertised food product than older children at more advanced levels of concrete operationalization.;Findings of this study contribute knowledge to both advertising scholars and practitioners. Researchers in the area of children and advertising can use the relevant information to further build upon a knowledge base in this common way of targeting children, through using advertising spokescharacters. Practitioners find implications for the creation and development of future spokescharacters, as this study relates the importance of maintaining positive character behavior for increased purchase influence/intention with children.