Children’s attitudinal and behavioral reactions to product placements: Investigating the role of placement frequency, placement integration, and parental mediation

The role of placement characteristics such as brand integration and placement frequency for brand outcomes on children has largely been ignored in extant research. We also lack insights about parental mediation as a potential moderator in this context. The present paper describes an experimental study in which children were exposed to different versions of a cartoon movie which included a moderately or frequently placed chips brand. The brand was either presented as a screen- or as a plot-placement. Children's attitudinal and behavioral outcomes were matched with surveys completed by their parents who answered questions about their mediation strategies. Compared to screen-placements, moderately and frequently presented plot-placements lead to an increase in children's product choice. Parents’ advertising mediation strategies were not able to prevent this behavioral outcome. Our findings offer insights into children's susceptibility to product placement effects relevant to parents, educators, and policy regulators.