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Global health
Research
A content analysis of outdoor non-alcoholic beverage advertisements in Ghana
  1. Marie A Bragg1,2,
  2. Tamara Hardoby3,
  3. Natasha G Pandit1,
  4. Yemi R Raji4,
  5. Gbenga Ogedegbe1,5
  1. 1 Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York, USA
  2. 2 Department of Public Health Nutrition, New York University College of Global Public Health, New York City, New York, USA
  3. 3 New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, New York, USA
  4. 4 Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
  5. 5 Section for Global Health, Division of Health and Behavior, Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York, USA
  1. Correspondence to Marie A Bragg; marie.bragg{at}nyumc.org

Abstract

Objectives This was a two-part descriptive study designed to (1) assess the marketing themes and sugar content of beverages promoted in outdoor advertisements (ads) within a portion of Accra, Ghana and (2) quantify the types of ads that appeared along the Accra-Cape Coast Highway.

Setting A 4.7 km2 area of Accra, Ghana and a 151 km region along the highway represented the target areas for collecting photos of outdoor beverage ads.

Primary and secondary outcome measures Number and types of beverage ads, sugar content of beverage products featured in ads and marketing themes used in ads.

Design Two researchers photographed outdoor beverage ads in a 4.7 km2 area of Accra and used content analysis to assess marketing themes of ads, including the portrayal of children, local culture, music, sports and health. Researchers also recorded the number and type of ads along a 151 km stretch of the Accra-Cape Coast Highway. Researchers assessed the added sugar content to determine which beverages were sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).

Results Seventy-seven photographed ads were analysed. Seventy-three per cent (72.7%) of ads featured SSBs, and Coca-Cola accounted for 59.7% of ads. Sixty-five per cent (64.9%) of all ads featured sodas, while 35.1% advertised energy drinks, bottled or canned juice drinks and coffee-based, milk-based and water-based beverages. Thirteen per cent (13%) of ads featured children and 5.2% were located near schools or playgrounds. Nine per cent (9.1%) of ads contained a reference to health and 7.8% contained a reference to fitness/strength/sport. Along the Accra-Cape Coast Highway, Coca-Cola accounted for 60% of branded ads.

Conclusion This study demonstrates the frequency of outdoor SSB ads within a 4.7 km2 area of Accra, Ghana. Coca-Cola was featured in the majority of ads, and the child-targeted nature of some ads indicates a need to expand the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative pledge to reduce child-targeted marketing on a global scale.

  • Obesity
  • Food marketing
  • Ghana

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012313

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    Footnotes

    • Contributor MAB originated the idea for the manuscript and reviewed relevant literature on the topic.

      TH assisted with data collection and analysis and helped with the development of the manuscript.

      NGP assisted with data analysis and development of the manuscript.

      YRR provided critical feedback on drafts of the manuscript and assisted in framing the issues.

      GO provided critical feedback on drafts of the manuscript and assisted in framing the issues.

    • Funding This study was supported by the following grants: NYU/UG Cardiovascular Research Training Institute Program (D43TW009140) and the US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, NIH Office of the Director (DP5OD021373-01).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data sharing statement No additional data available.