Beverage industry TV advertising shifts after a stepwise mandatory food marketing restriction: achievements and challenges with regulating the food marketing environment

Abstract

Objective: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are heavily advertised globally, and SSB consumption is linked to increased health risk. To reduce unhealthy food marketing, Chile implemented a regulation for products classified as high in calories, sugar, saturated fat, or sodium, starting with a 2016 ban on child-targeted advertising of these products and adding a 6 am-10 pm daytime advertising ban in 2019. This study assesses changes in television advertising prevalence of ready-to-drink beverages, including and beyond SSBs, to analyze how the beverage industry shifted its marketing strategies across Chile's implementation phases. Design: Beverage advertisements were recorded during two randomly constructed weeks in April-May of 2016 (pre-implementation) through 2019 (daytime ban). Ad products were classified as "high-in" or "non-high-in" according to regulation nutrient thresholds. Ads were analyzed for their program placement and marketing content. Setting: Chile. Results: From pre-regulation to daytime ban: Child-targeted, daytime, and total ads decreased by 51.8 percentage points (p.p.), 51.5 p.p., and 61.8 p.p. for high-in products and increased by 62.9 p.p., 54.9 p.p., and 61.8 p.p. for non-high-in products (Ps < 0.001). Additionally, total ready-to-drink beverage ads increased by 5.4 p.p., and brand-only ads (no product shown) by 7 p.p. Conclusions: After the regulation implementation, “high-in” ads fell significantly, but “non-high-in” ads rose and continued using strategies targeting children and being aired during daytime. Given research showing that advertising one product can increase preferences for a different product from that same brand and product categories, broader food marketing regulation approaches may be needed to protect children from the harmful effects of food marketing.