Childrens and young adults’ generalized attitudes toward foods in unbranded mobile games

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how children and young adults form attitudes toward food products in unbranded gaming mobile applications and the degree to which product category attitudes can generate responses to brands in the category through the generalization process. Design/methodology/approach Two experiments exposed children and young adults to mobile games featuring food products in a between-subjects treatment versus control design to examine both affective responses and belief formation toward food brands within the category. Findings It was found that both children and young adults favored branded food items in the product category after playing with an unbranded mobile game assembling food products. Young adults also developed specific beliefs about nonrepresented brands in the category, which were found to be stronger under high involvement. Parents and public policymakers must be vigilant in controlling access to food-related games, even when they are not commercial in nature because of the attitudes and beliefs formed in unbranded games. Originality/value This research demonstrates that attitudes and beliefs around food brands can be formed through unbranded game play when children and young adults generalize attitudes. Because of the emphasis on “advergames,” no studies have examined the impact of unbranded games on children and young adults through the generalization process.