TITLE:
Influence of Manipulative Marketing Tactics
AUTHORS:
Gila Berlagosky, Taly Furer, Jackie Silbering
KEYWORDS:
Marketing, Tactics, Advertising, Teenagers, Adolescents, Emotional, Visual, Linguistic
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.13 No.6,
November
14,
2025
ABSTRACT: This study examines the influence of manipulative marketing tactics, specifically visual, linguistic, and emotional appeals, on teenagers’ food choices in fast-food advertising. With adolescent obesity rates continuing to rise globally, marketing strategies from corporations such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Chick-fil-A play a critical role in shaping unhealthy eating behaviors. While previous research has identified the general impact of advertising on youth, few studies have isolated which specific tactic exerts the strongest influence. To address this gap, two surveys were conducted with teenagers ages 12 - 19, analyzing responses to ads categorized by appeal type. The findings reveal a notable discrepancy: although participants frequently selected linguistic appeals in multiple-choice sections, their open-ended responses consistently emphasized visuals—color, imagery, and food presentation—as the most persuasive elements. This suggests that visual appeal holds the greatest subconscious influence, despite teenagers’ perception that they attend to text. These results highlight the vulnerability of adolescents to visually dominant marketing in a media-saturated environment and underscore the need for greater media literacy, policy intervention, and ethical advertising practices. Future research should explore how visual persuasion extends beyond food advertising into other consumer, lifestyle, and social domains.