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[Extract] This special issue of the International Journal of Advertising presents a selection from one of the world's most dynamic, yet mostly under-researched marketing markets: Latin America. Despite rapid growth and change, only a few studies in marketing have examined this region or drawn upon data derived from Latin American countries, with even fewer studies published which focus specifically on marketing communications (Fastoso and Whitelock 2011). With this special issue, I hope to address the scarcity of region-specific research and present seven papers shedding light on marketing communication in this fast-growing region of the world.

There is widespread concern that consumers are making inappropriate decisions about what they eat, leading to a growing incidence of obesity and chronic illness, which will strain public-health budgets and damage economic competitiveness. Inappropriate nutritional decisions and obesity are of particular public-policy importance where young consumers are concerned. The paper investigates how consumers, particularly young consumers, can be persuaded to make better nutritional decisions voluntarily, and how government and commercial persuasive communications can be deployed to facilitate such decisions. The key conclusions are that the mass media are not a reliable vehicle for bringing about the desired behavioural changes, but that new media, such as the Internet and ‘text messaging’, should be used to deliver tailored messages to individuals, particularly younger consumers.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the nature of advergames and the rhetoric versus reality of their claimed effects and effectiveness, focusing specifically on their use by children.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of major web sites that are likely to have particular appeal to children and an evaluation in order to determine whether the material contained in these sites would be permitted if similar codes of practice, as for other media, would be applied to internet sites.FindingsThe paper finds that the majority of web sites do not comply with the existing broadcasting codes of practice for mainstream advertising.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is exploratory in nature and the sample size limited.Practical implicationsAs the paper suggests that advertisers should critically examine the content of their web sites and open the debate about what constitutes acceptable online behavior.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights about the content of advergames in practice and the potential problems associated with regulation of advertising in different media forms, especially new and evolving media forms.

This paper focuses on the use of mobile “app”-based interventions as tools to influence health-related behaviour. Apps are software applications designed to run on smart phones and other mobile devices We review the extensive but fragmented literature relating to serious games and gamification in order to identify the key concepts and frameworks that can be used to underpin the design and evaluation of these apps. We then use these criteria to review a range of current apps developed by one public body, the UK NHS and commercial developers of health-related apps and compare these to commercial apps promoting unhealthy food items. We suggest that there are serious weaknesses evident in the apps provided by public bodies and that this sector could learn from an analysis of the development strategies used in the commercial sector. Directions for future research conclude the paper.

People with chronic illnesses are likely to show a higher involvement in decision making about their treatment options than people with acute illnesses. Of particular interest to many people with chronic illnesses is the internet as a medium where they can gather, share and exchange information and support each other. Little is known about the kind of information shared and topics discussed online. Using the example of people living with HIV/Aids, this paper examines the kind of information shared and discusses the relevance of understanding the online information exchange for the medical community.

Product placement involves the introduction of a identifiable branded product into the content or background of media broadcasting formats. Placements take place in traditional media as well as newer formats such as games and social media sites. A distinguishing feature of product placement is that – unlike traditional advertising – it takes place within the context of entertainment and is shaped or scaffolded by an immersive narrative (Cowley and Barron, 2008) thus making it difficult to avoid and often difficult to detect (La Ferle and Edwards, 2006).

Social media, and in particular user-generated media, offer a myriad of possibilities for enhancing the engagement of target audiences with social marketing campaigns. Social media, which enables easy and free content creation, is often seen as a cost effective way to promote social messages, engage users and inform stakeholders.An immediate advantage of social media is the increased credibility over traditional media channels, especially advertising. In a recent survey of 14,000 consumes across Germany, France and the UK conducted by CRM company Satmetrix, only 2% of the British population said they trust advertising claims, 15% trust anonymous online reviews, while reviews from friends, family and colleagues are trusted by 49% (Fernandez 2010). However, in contrast to traditional media channels, there are some important differences when using social media as part of a health promotion or social marketing programme.

We review the nature of advergames and the rhetoric versus reality of their claimed effects and effectiveness, focussing specifically on their use by children. We use consumer behaviour theories such as the persuasion knowledge model to provide a theoretically-grounded framework for understanding the effect of advergames and other forms of interactive marketing communication on consumer groups that are perceived as being more vulnerable to commercial pressures than the wider population. Existing broadcasting codes of practice for mainstream advertising are used to evaluate the content of websites that are likely to have particular appeal to children in order to determine whether the material contained in these sites would be permitted if similar codes of practice were applied to electronic communications. Managerial and policy maker implications conclude the paper.

Ever since Levitt's (1983) article The Globalization of Markets, in which he claimed that marketing can be standardised across cultures, the debate whether or not marketing, and advertising in particular, can truly be standardised has divided both practitioners and researchers in the field. However, there is an increasing body of research which casts serious doubts over the claims made by Levitt and which suggests that advertising is strongly influenced by (local) culture. This paper summarises the research carried out so far, and provides an overview of the current state of knowledge. The paper also suggests further areas for research.

This article reviews the intentions and assumptions underlying calls for greater regulation of nutrition and health claims in food advertising and examines the likely impact of new European regulations on health-related claims. After providing a review of the literature concerning regulatory effectiveness and on nutritional and health-related claims in advertising, we present a qualitative analysis of television advertisements aired on British television using a coding framework based on recently approved European Union regulations. There is little reason to expect health-related claims in food advertising to become clearer to consumers as a result of the regulations.