Impact of colour of nutritional labels and use of emoticons

Researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK tested the combined effects of using emoticons and colours on chocolate bar and cereal bar labels.
Regardless of label, participants rated the chocolate as tastier and more desirable than the cereal bar and the cereal bar as healthier than the chocolate bar. A series of interactions revealed that a frowning emoticon on a white background decreased perceptions of healthiness and tastiness of the cereal bar, but not the chocolate bar. Overall nutritional labels had limited effects on perceptions and no effects on choice of snack foods. Emoticon labels yielded stronger effects than colour labels. An article about the research is published in Appetite.
Click here for the article (1.12 MB).

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