Television Advertising and Beef Demand: An Econometric Analysis of 'Split-Cable' Household Panel Scanner Data

The Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 led to significant increases in the generic promotion of beef in the United States. Widely familiar television advertising campaigns, distributed through national television networks, have been among the most visible outgrowths of this vigorous promotional effort. This study reports the results of econometric analysis of fresh beef consumption data for households participating in a controlled, experimental investigation of the television advertising's effects on beef demand. While factors such as price, income and household demographics are shown to be significant determinants of fresh beef purchases, the advertsiing campaigns apparently did not increase, and may even have decreased, the panelists' demand for beef.