Breakfast cereal cartoon mascots gaze down from supermarket shelves at just the right angle to make eye contact with children, unconsciously building affinity with the brand, a new study has found.
A team of researchers from Cornell University in the US analysed the shelf placement and eye positioning of 86 cereal spokes-characters in 10 grocery stores, finding that those aimed at children overwhelmingly displayed downward eye inflection compared with cereals targeted at adults.
The second part of the study, in which participants were shown different versions of a box of cereal with the mascot's gaze digitally altered, found eye contact from the cartoon character increased feelings of trust and connection to the brand and influenced choice over competitors.
"Making eye contact with the spokes-character on the cereal box fosters positive interpersonal feelings, which may transfer to the cereal itself," the authors write. "One problem in the use of spokes-characters to market any type of food is the issue of children's vulnerability to influence.
"Numerous studies have confirmed that children do not have the cognitive capacity to understand that marketing presents a potentially biased point of view until the age of seven or eight years. Thus there is concern that marketing techniques aimed at children could be exploitative."
As many cereals targeted at children are unhealthier than the adult alternatives, the study's authors recommend companies marketing healthier offerings start using cartoon mascots of their own.
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