Grimace鈥擬cDonald鈥檚 restaurant鈥檚 rotund, milkshake-loving creation鈥攁nd the Kool-Aid Man may not look like real creatures, but the two characters can have a very real effect on kids, a 兔子先生传媒文化作品 study found.
Children exposed to egg-shaped cartoon characters are more likely to eat more and to choose unhealthy food options, such as cookies and candy, than those who don鈥檛 see overweight cartoon characters. 鈥淭hey have a tendency to eat almost twice as much indulgent food as kids who are exposed to perceived healthier looking cartoon characters or no characters at all,鈥 says Margaret C. Campbell, marketing professor at the Leeds School of Business and lead author of the study.
The research pioneers the examination of kids鈥 awareness of body weight and stereotyping, particularly of cartoon characters. 鈥淪urprisingly, children apply typically human standards to cartoon creatures鈥攃reatures for which there isn鈥檛 a real baseline,鈥 says Campbell.
Principal听
Margaret C. Campbell
Collaboration/Support
Leeds School of Business