McDonald's Subverting Toddler Taste Buds

A recent study out of Stanford unequivocally shows the power of branding on the minds of young children (Robinson et al.; Effects of Fast Food Branding on Young Children’s Taste Preferences (2007) Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 161: 792-797).  Their results clearly demonstrate how, "Branding of foods and beverages influences young children’s taste perceptions."

Childhood obesity has nearly tripled in the US over the past two decades, where risk factors for ailments such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol are much higher for obese children once they reach adulthood [source].

As such, the researchers of the above mentioned study set out to investigate, "...whether preschool children’s taste preferences were influenced by branding from a heavily marketed source."

The study comes built on previous work which showed children between 2-6 years old, "...can recognize familiar brand names, packaging, logos, and characters and associate them with products, especially if the brands use salient features such as bright colors, pictures, and cartoon character."

The fast food chain McDonald's was chosen because, "...it is the largest fast food advertiser in the United States, and we expected most, if not all, preschool children to be familiar with the McDonald’s brand because of extensive marketing."

The study consisted of two research assistants, one who placed two food items in front of the child, while the other sat behind a screen unable to see the two food items.  Each pairing consisted of the same food item, only one was clearly identifiable by a brand logo or slogan from McDonald's.  The blinded researcher then asked the child choose which one they preferred.

Their results shocked the bejeezes out of me - every child in the study preferred McDonald's branded food item over the same, unbranded food item.  Furthermore, children that ate at McDonald's more often or had more televisions in their house had a higher propensity for choosing the branded food item over the unbranded item.

"These results add evidence to support recommendations to regulate or ban advertising or marketing of high calorie, low-nutrient foods and beverages, or all marketing, that is directed to young children." concluded the authors.

So, branding works after all.