As
marketers have expanded online, children and teenagers are seeing far
more soda advertising than before, with blacks and Hispanics the major
targets, a new study finds. The report from the Yale University Rudd
Center for Food Policy & Obesity also said many fruit and energy
drinks, popular with teenagers, have as much added sugar and as many
calories as regular soda. Children’s and teens’ exposure to full-calorie
soda ads on television doubled from 2008 to 2010, fueled by increases
from Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Black children and teens saw
80% to 90% more ads than white children, including twice as many for
the 5-Hour Energy drink and Coca-Cola’s vitamin water and Sprite.
Hispanic children saw 49% more ads for sugary drinks and energy drinks
on Spanish-language TV, and Hispanic teens saw 99% more ads. The report
also found that companies rely heavily on social media sites to reach
young people, who spend more time on websites than they do watching
commercials. Twenty one beverage brands had YouTube channels in 2010
with more than 229 million views by June 2011, including 158 million
views for the Red Bull channel alone.
