Advertising Contents of Child Health Drinks in India -An Analysis of Trends and Pattern

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this paper is to study the trend and pattern of advertising content for child health drinks in India. A detailed analysis of the advertisement content of 5 child health drink brands for 6 years has been undertaken in this study. The majority of the brand's core focus area was growth. The most highlighted nutrient among the brand was protein. Maximum brands have highlighted more than one nutrient in their advertisements. Most of the brands have displayed scientific information and 100% of the brands have shown health benefits in their ads. The celebrity or HCP was present in most of the brand’s advertisements. Regarding location, it was found that in the majority of the brand's advertisements there was a combination of location i.e., home, leisure & shop. All the brands have used rational and emotional appeals in their advertisements. In the majority of the brands' advertisements, the lead voice was female. In child-parent interaction, most of the brands have shown the mother in the parents’ position. However, in the advertisement content, there was no verbal mention of a balanced diet, RDA, and calories which are very important from a child’s health point of view. As there are several studies that suggest the rise in childhood obesity and the association of television advertisements with it. The policymakers also need to closely look into the advertising content and act for the benefit of the child’s health.