An issue that goes way back and is still a prominent issue today in society is advertising to children. Children are easily influenced and like to experiment with new things so advertising to children has become a very sensitive, emotionally charged issue. It is an issue that is not only a concern to the general public, but also to industry and lawmakers. Advertising to children in perceived as evil because it makes kids want what they don’t need and puts pressure on parents to respond to those needs. The children’s market is huge and that is what it is becoming such a big issue today on what to do about it. There is a lot at stake.
I have read 3 different articles that look at different perspectives on children and advertising; these being from the standpoint of the companies promoting the products, parents and society's take on the issue, if children are really noticing these advertisements, and what is being done about the issue.
For companies, marketing to children seems to be a good decision even if the products aren’t necessarily child friendly. I don’t agree with what they do most of the time but they are being pretty smart about what they are doing if you really look at it. Parents typically give into what their children want to some degree, so for advertisers to make their advertisements more “child friendly” will help them get what they want. This is doing things like having a cartoon character to promote the product so that children will remember it, for example the Marlboro man. Cigarettes aren’t meant for children obviously, but children think that it is cool because all they know about the product is what they see the Marlboro man do. Another thing advertisers do is make advertisements flashy with lots of colors to attract a child’s attention. Children see these things and instantly think “wow this is cool, I have to have this” then they proceed to ask their parents for the product. In return parents these days will usually give their child what they want, upping sales for the companies.
There then is the standpoint of parents and the rest of society. Like I stated earlier, there are advertisements that are geared specifically for children most being ones involving cartoon characters. Children see these and feel like they are the only ones with the ability of purchasing the item and that they need to have it. Truth is the purchasing pressure is then put on the parents. I don’t think it is right for companies to be making advertisements specifically for children when, the children themselves, aren’t the ones who can make the purchases. Children are too young to realize the manipulations that are going on through television or media advertisements and also do not realize the financial pressures that come with the purchase of items. It just doesn’t seem right to be gearing these products to kids when they aren’t the ones that can make the purchases, let alone that some of the advertisements geared towards them are for products that aren’t meant for children anyways.
Do children really notice ads? is what one article looked at. It is believed that when children play games that are meant for advertising, like “be a Popstar” by honeycomb cereal brand, fails to raise awareness of the product to children. A study was done with 112 fourth-graders playing this popstar game; some of the children had a version of the game with ad labels in the game and others played a version with the labels removed. After playing the game, the children were asked to identify the source of the game, and there was no significant difference in the responses of the two groups (Children Fail to Recognize Online Ads, Study Says, New York Times). So this makes some think, “Is advertising to children really that bad? Is it really helping companies to reach a bigger audience?” I believe advertising affects everyone weather we notice it or not. You may not be necessarily paying attention to the ad, but unconsciously you are taking in the information. So I’m not quite sure what to think abut this study at the moment.
In 1990, the Children’s Television Act was passed and still remains effective today. This Act states:
“Ages 12 and under: The amount of advertising aired during children's programming should be limited to 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays -- still more than for adult prime time;
Ages 16 and under: The FCC is required to consider the amount of educational programming that a broadcaster presents in approving license renewals and examine the role of "program-length commercials.” (Advertising to children, AEF.com)
There are many laws and regulations still being created today to protect children from certain types of advertising.
Sources:
Advertising to children
http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/3005
Children fail to recognize online ads
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/children-fail-to-recognize-online-ads-study-says/
Advertising to children canada
http://www.acaweb.ca/en/current-issues/advertising-to-children/
