How much is “too much” for a brand to use an advergame with children?
| Published date | 11 March 2019 |
| Date | 11 March 2019 |
| Pages | 287-299 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2017-1554 |
| Author | Luisa Agante,Ana Pascoal |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
How much is “too much”for a brand to use an
advergame with children?
Luisa Agante
School of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, and
Ana Pascoal
Bright Pixel, Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to understand the magnitude of the impact advergames have on children’s preferences and choices for
unhealthy products and brands, in terms of time of exposure (immediate vs delayed) and number of exposures (single vs repeated exposure). Past
literature has focused essentially on the immediate effects of single exposures to advergames. Few studies explored the delayed or repetition effects
and found wear-out effects of multiple exposure and also no delayed effects of single exposure. Therefore, this study will reduce t he existent gap in
the literature by studying simultaneously both effects.
Design/methodology/approach –A sample of 104 children aged 6-9 years old was used, divided into three groups (no exposure/single exposure/
repeated exposure) in an experimental between-subjects design setting.
Findings –The results confirm the existence of all the expected effects: exposure to advergames has immediate and longer effec ts on a child’s
preferences and choices of the brand depicted in the advergame and in that product category. Repeated exposure to the advergame enhances all the
effects on the brand, but not on the product category.
Originality/value –Although earlier literature has already analyzed time and repetition effects on traditional media, or sought to analyze effects of
advergames but with an adult sample, this article highlights the extent of these effects wi th children, and based on these results, reflects on the
ethicality of using advergames with children on products high in fat, salt and/or sugar.
Keywords Obesity, Ethics, Children, Consumer behaviour, Consumer protection, Advergames, Consumer ethics, Video games, Brand choice,
Digital marketing
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Companies are facing a world of opportunitiesregarding digital
media and are thus moving their investment toward these new
media. According to Statista (2018), 2017 worldwide digital
advertising spending amounts to US$229.25bn (compared to
US$194.6bn in 2016), and it will grow to US$335.5bn by
2020.
This growth is a response to the changing media
consumption environment and is happening on all targets,
including children. According to EU Kids Online (Olafsson
et al.,2013),children’s media use begins at ages 0-2, and there
is a dramatic change after 7 years with a rise in the use of digital
games, the internet and mobile phones. In fact, youngsters’
media environment and how they consume media is shifting,
with fewer children having televisionsin their rooms and more
children, including three- and four-year olds having
tablets (Nelson et al., 2017). The most commononline activity
for 9-16 year olds is to use the internet for school work (85
per cent) followedby game play (83 per cent).
As a result, companies began to create what is known as
advergames, online video games createdto promote a brand or
its products, allowing them to be face-to-face with customers,
anytime, anywhere. As this far-reaching media combines
children’s love for video games, urge of entertainment and fun
and allows for interaction between them and the brand, it
seems a great path to follow, especially considering its lower
costs and fewer regulations when compared, for instance, with
television advertisements (Pempek and Calvert, 2009). Due to
their immersive environment, advergames engage children in a
fun way, which lowers their cognitive defenses and reduces
their self-regulatory resources. As a result, children have more
difficulties in reflecting on the commercial content and on
critically reflecting on it (Hudders et al.,2017). Moreover,
these games are highly effectivebecause, when children like the
game, they are more likely to change their behaviors towardthe
product depictedin thegame (Vanwesenbeeck et al.,2017).
This is particularly important when we consider that a great
part of the advertising that is targeting children is food
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
28/2 (2019) 287–299
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-08-2017-1554]
The authors acknowledge the helpful contribution of the external reviewers
and the editor in the editorial process of reviewing this paper, who
significantly enhanced the paper through their insightful comments and
suggestions.
Received 31 August 2017
Revised 17 April 2018
12 August 2018
Accepted 25 September 2018
287
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