Food brands, YouTube and Children: Media practices in the context of the PAOS self-regulation code

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze media practices involving food content on YouTube in terms of the self-regulatory framework established by the PAOS code, which was originally designed for television. The study considers content created and disseminated by two different sources: food brands and child YouTuber channels. We conducted an exploratory qualitative-quantitative study based on a content analysis of videos posted in 2019 on the most viewed YouTube channels in Spain (Socialblade, 2019). The final sample included 211 videos (29h 57m) divided into two subsamples: the official channels of 13 Spanish food brands (82 videos), and 15 Spanish child YouTuber channels (129 videos). The study has facilitated information on nine dimensions: (1) adherence to regulations and ethical standards, (2) nutrition education and information, (3) identification of advertising, (4) presence of risk, (5) clarity in the presentation of the product and in the language used, (6) pressure selling, (7) promotions, giveaways, competitions, and children’s clubs, (8) support and promotion through characters and programs and (9) comparative presentations. The main findings reveal the experimental nature of videos featuring food brands that are posted on YouTube for child audiences, especially videos broadcast on the channels of child YouTubers, who post content without an ethical strategy sensitive to their target audience. The lack of compliance with the basic requirement of identifying the video as advertising underscores the urgent need to adapt existing legal and ethical standards to these new formulas of commercial communication.