Report: Food Companies Target Latino Kids with Unhealthy Food Ads

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Nearly 70% of food ads on Spanish-language TV viewed by Latino kids and teens promoted fast-food and other restaurants, candy, sugary drinks, and snacks, according to a new report released by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut, the African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network and Salud America!

Only 3% of food ads promoted yogurt, other dairy, 100% juice, water, fruits, or vegetables.

The report reviewed public statements and market research data from 26 companies (and 267 of their brands) that spent at least $100,000 in advertising in 2013.

Latino-focused results include:

Heavy spending on Spanish TV. Three companies spent more than $65 million in Spanish-language TV advertising: McDonald’s, Mars, and General Mills. Yum! Brands, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, and Hershey each spent $46-49 million.

Big budgets on Spanish TV. Mars, which spent $71 million on Spanish TV ads, invested almost 25% of its TV advertising budget to the medium. Six more companies allocated a relatively high 10% or more of their TV advertising budgets to Spanish TV (compared with 8.5% on average): Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Post Foods, Kraft Foods, Wendy’s, Kellogg, and Burger King.

Ads on Spanish TV were for nutritionally poor products, which contribute to poor diets and health disparities, and few healthy items.

• Fast-food and other restaurant brands spent $244 million to advertise on Spanish TV, one out of every three food-related advertising on these networks.
• Candy brands represented 16% of all food-related advertising on Spanish TV.
• Sugary drinks and snacks each contributed another 9% of food-related advertising spending on Spanish TV. Coca-Cola Classic spent almost $16 million in Spanish TV advertising, and 7Up did not advertise at all on English TV.

“This report highlights important disparities in the food and beverage industry’s heavy marketing of unhealthy foods to Hispanic and black youth, and the corresponding lack of promotion of healthier options,” said Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America!, based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. “Given the role food marketing plays in influencing the diets of youth of color, there is increasing demand for heightened industry self-regulation and community-based action.”

Go here to learn more about how to drive healthier marketing for Latinos.