The effectiveness of food advertising restrictions may be limited by the allowance of brand advertising. This study investigated the impact of brand advertising on cognitive, affective and behavioural intention outcomes for food products high in fat, salt and/or sugar (HFSS).

Online randomised controlled trial. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three groups: HFSS brand advertisements, non-HFSS brand advertisements or non-food brand advertisements (control). Eight images of brand advertisements were individually presented via an online research platform. The primary outcomes were purchase intention and craving, measured using 100-point slider scales. Secondary outcomes were brand recognition, recall and product associations. Generalised linear models examined craving and purchase intention for HFSS foods. Group differences in brand recognition, recall and product associations were tested using Kruskal–Wallis and ANOVA.

Online.

UK adults (N 191) aged 18–87 (M = 47; sd = 16·15).

The mean composite purchase intention score for the HFSS group (234·89) was not significantly different (p > 0·05) from coefficients for non-HFSS (−51·91) and non-food groups (31·21). Similarly, no significant group differences were found for cravings. The HFSS group was significantly more likely to recognise, recall and associate more products with viewed brands, compared to non-HFSS and non-food groups (ps < 0·01).

Exposure to HFSS brand advertising triggered recognition, recall and product associations with viewed brands. However, this did not translate into increased craving or purchase intention for HFSS foods. Future research should examine the effects of brand advertising in real-world settings.