Advertising Literacy and Fast Food Purchasing Behavior of Youth in Pakistan: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Today, the role of advertising appealing to young people is very important in the task of influencing their consumer behavior in the sphere of fast food. Therefore, this research investigates the moderating effect of advertising literacy on the actual choice of fast foods by young consumers through an experimental design. This research sample comprised seventy participants and used a pre-test/post-test design within a single-subject group. Specifically, the present research intended to evaluate the utility of an intervention that intended to improve the extent of advertising literacy and its manifold impact on the behaviors of the subjects. The results highlighted awfully low level of advertising literacy among the respondents, meaning that a significant portion of young consumers lack critical thinking skills regarding advertisements or even the possibility of the negative consequences of the effects of fast food consumption portrayed in the commercials. The intention of the intervention was quite simple: to make people think more critically about what is being advertised and to make them aware of the impact of the advertisements being aired; but as the post-test indicated, there was only a marginal change in participants' fast food consumption behavior. It could be said that even though the level of advertising literacy is high, this is not enough to bring some profound changes in consumption behavior, at least in the context where time convenience and the pleasure of tasting are the cultural imperatives. These results stress the need for more adequate educational campaigns aimed at enhancing youth advertising literacy and point at the need for integrating information on the purpose and potential consequences of fast foods advertising into the campaigns. Furthermore, it should urge legislators to pass further regulations that would prevent the usage of misleading ads to target young consumers.