Cartoon Characters Make Food More Appealing To Kids, Really?

Cartoon Characters Make Food More Appealing To Kids, Really?

Cartoons, a favorite Saturday morning staple, do more than just entertain your child. They provide recognizable characters that children can identify with, idolize, and want to emulate. Those same characters can also influence what your child eats, both good and bad.

Cartoon characters are already used liberally in the packaging of foodstuffs, particularly cereal, cookies, and snacks, many of which have little nutritional value. Could these same well-loved characters sell healthy food and snacks as well?

A small study conducted with preschoolers investigated the use of cartoon characters on packaging and the perception that foods tasted better with those images attached. Children tasted 3 pairs of identical foods (graham crackers, gummy fruit snacks, and carrots) presented in packages either with or without a popular cartoon character (Dora, Shrek, or Scooby-Doo). They tasted both food items in each pair and indicated whether the two foods tasted the same or one tasted better. Children then selected which of the food items they would prefer to eat for a snack.

The participants were asked to taste a sample of both unmarked and character-labeled packages. The results showed that the presence of a cartoon character on a package influenced the children’s perception of taste and their preference in snacks to a certain degree.

In the case of the graham crackers, 37.5 percent were not fooled and said both packages tasted the same, however 55 percent thought that the cartoon branded crackers were better. The gummy bear test yielded almost identical results. The carrots were a bit different, with 50 percent liking the carrots featuring a character, 25 percent liking the unbranded carrots, and 25 percent unable to tell the difference.

This study is empirical and undeniable evidence that marketing using licensed characters has an influence on children’s taste and snack preference and the characters could be restricted for junk food and utilized in selling health snacks. But the fact that the influence on taste perception was weakest for carrots may mean the second approach may not be an effective strategy.

The Team at i-Supplements.com