Advertising patterns of a fast-food chain on social media in Brazil

• Published in: Public health nutrition 2022-08, Vol.25 (8), p.2246-2253
• Main Authors: da Silva, Jéssica Moreira, Matos, Juliana de Paula, Rodrigues, Michele Bittencourt, Mais, Laís Amaral, Claro, Rafael Moreira, Horta, Paula Martins
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Advertising; Awards & honors; Celebrities; Community Nutrition; Digital media; Discounts; Fast food; Fast food industry; Food chains; Licenses; Marketing; Obesity; Principal components analysis; Research Paper; Social networks
• ISSN: 1368-9800; 1475-2727; 1475-2727
• DOI: 10.1017/S1368980021004973

To investigate the advertising patterns on the posts of a fast-food chain in Brazil on three social media platforms in 2019. An exploratory cross-sectional study. Advertising strategies on the posts of a major fast-food chain on their official Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts. The strategies were investigated according to the INFORMAS protocol for food promotion monitoring. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to identify advertising patterns in each platform. 305 advertisements. Four advertising patterns were identified in the PCA of Facebook and Instagram. In both platforms, the components and were similar. On Facebook, a pattern corresponding to economic appeal was identified as , while on Instagram, this pattern also included a practical approach. On Facebook, the fourth component was named , while on Instagram it was since on this second social media the component also included the 'new brand development' variable. On YouTube, three advertising patterns were identified in PCA. Similar to the other platforms, the first and the second patterns were called and , and the third component referred to both . The advertising patterns of the fast-food chain on three social media platforms were commonly directed to children and addressed price, discounts and the celebrities' universe. The findings of this study corroborate other data in the literature regarding unhealthy food advertising on social media. This study discusses the urgency of regulating food advertising content on this medium.