Some parents know that all you have to do is tell a teenager not to do something for him to do it! This principle seems to apply just as well to advertising slogans such as those of the national “Eat and move” campaign which advises “for your health, eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day“. Researchers from the Grenoble School of Management conducted an experiment to measure the impact of nutrition slogans on high school and university students. They concluded that these messages are not very effective, even counterproductive.
During a symposium on the effectiveness of prevention policies, research manager Carolina Werle explained that she showed a photo of mcdonalds sandwich, the Big max, to a group of students, accompanied by a health message. The study participants were then given the choice between a voucher for an ice cream or a bag of fresh fruit from the American fast food chain. About 82% of those who saw the photo chose the ice cream compared to 65% of those who didn’t. The health slogan appears to act as “a justification for hedonistic consumption and makes this product more positive,” explained the marketer, quoted by The Parisian.
A second study conducted with approximately 800 high school students in the Grenoble region proved that it is more effective to rely on social arguments such as the negative aspect of being overweight, than on health advice. A message like “balanced meals, unlimited friends!” proved to be among the most effective. “Current campaigns focus on the health argument and neglect the social argument while adolescents are particularly sensitive to social norms and the influence of their peers”, explains Carolina Werle at Parisian.
