Author Identifier
Clare Whitton: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1991-2432
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Public Health Nutrition
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
RAS ID
77114
Funders
Singapore Population Health Improvement Center (013)
Abstract
Objective: To characterize the nature of digital food and beverage advertising in Singapore Setting: Food and beverage advertisements within 20 clicks on top 12 non-food websites and all posts on Facebook and Instagram pages of 15 major food companies in Singapore were sampled from January 1 to June 30, 2018. Design: Advertised foods were classified as being core (healthier), non-core or mixed-dishes (example burger) using the WHO nutrient profile model and national guidelines. Marketing techniques were assessed using published coding frameworks. Participants: NA Results: Advertisements (n=117) on the 12 non-food websites were largely presented as editorial content. Food companies posted twice weekly on average on social media sites (n=1261), with eatery-chains posting most frequently and generating largest amount of likes and shares. Key marketing techniques emphasized non-health attributes for example hedonic or convenience attributes (85% of advertisements). Only a minority of foods and beverages advertised were core foods (non-food website:16.2%; social media: 13.5%). Conclusions: Top food and beverage companies in Singapore actively use social media as a platform for promotion with a complex array of marketing techniques. A vast majority of these posts were unhealthy highlighting an urgent need to consider regulating digital food and beverage advertising in Singapore.
DOI
10.1017/S1368980024002428
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Chua, X. H., Whitton, C., Vandevijvere, S., Kelly, B., van Dam, R. M., & Rebello, S. A. (2025). Characterising the extent and nature of digital food and beverage marketing in Singapore: A descriptive study. Public Health Nutrition, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980024002428