Monitoring youth-appealing advertising on social media for the e-cigarette brand Lost Mary.

Abstract

Lost Mary is a popular e-cigarette brand among youth in the United States. This study aimed to analyze Lost Mary's branded social media activity and assess whether marketing efforts may have contributed to its youth appeal. We conducted a content analysis of 53 Lost Mary posts published on social media platforms from 2022 to 2023. More than a third of the posts included flavor descriptors, including fruit or ice, both popular flavors among youth. More than two-thirds of the posts used vibrant colors, and any human models included appeared to be young adults. Findings suggest that Lost Mary may target youth on social media platforms through the use of youth-appealing advertisement strategies (e.g. flavors). These findings highlight the need for increased monitoring of e-cigarette brand marketing on social media.