UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

U.S. food companies disproportionately target Black and Hispanic consumers with marketing for high-calorie, low-nutrient products including candy, sugary drinks, snacks, and fast food. The more than one billion spent on this targeted marketing exacerbates inequities in poor diet and diet-related diseases in communities of color, including heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

This report updates the Rudd Center’s previous report on ethnically targeted advertising of packaged foods and beverages that examined 2017 data. Since then, TV viewing habits and advertising trends have changed dramatically. This report examines how these broader viewing and advertising trends have impacted ethnically targeted food advertising is unknown.