According to the
article from the American Academy of Pediatrics, children younger than eight
years old are defenseless against advertising. The fact that children are so
defenseless to the marketing ploys of companies, The Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) held hearings, reviewed existing research, and decided that it was unfair
and deceptive to advertise to children six years old and younger. Even though
they found that this was unfair, they did not ban these advertisements
altogether because they thought that this would be impractical. However, even
though advertisements like this were not banned in the USA, there have been
several other countries that have implemented bans directed at advertisements
for children. These include not showing children-specific ads after a
particular time, or forbidding them altogether.
For quite some time now, companies have used tricky tactics to get their message to young children. Product placement, using movie and TV show characters as toys in restaurant meals, and celebrity endorsement are just a few examples of marketing techniques that are very effective towards children. There is also a connection between TV and the Internet, with many channels and shows encouraging a child to log onto their website (which is easy to do without the help of a parent). A lot of advertising is aimed at getting children to convince their parents they need something, which is very effective.
For quite some time now, companies have used tricky tactics to get their message to young children. Product placement, using movie and TV show characters as toys in restaurant meals, and celebrity endorsement are just a few examples of marketing techniques that are very effective towards children. There is also a connection between TV and the Internet, with many channels and shows encouraging a child to log onto their website (which is easy to do without the help of a parent). A lot of advertising is aimed at getting children to convince their parents they need something, which is very effective.
The purpose of
television is more than just pure entertainment; it’s a vehicle to create a
desire to consume advertisers’ products. Because of this, both educators and
parents need to be aware of how advertising through these mediums influences
children’s well-being and overall health.
While there has
been several major studies on how advertising by cigarette and alcohol
companies affects children. Recently, there has been a movement towards
studying the correlation between food advertisements, specifically junk food,
and the rising rate of childhood obesity and their unhealthy decision-making.
According to Jennifer
Harris, the director of marketing initiatives at the Yale Rudd Center for
Food Policy and Obesity, “children and teenagers see 12 to 14 food ads on
television every day on average in the United States”. In one study,
researchers told 3 to 5 year old children to choose between two hamburgers
based on which one tasted better. These products were essentially identical in
taste and quality. The only difference was that one option was wrapped in a
McDonald’s wrapper. An overwhelming number of children ultimately chose the
McDonald’s wrapped product. This was true for several other types of food
including French fries, baby carrots, or even milk. Their results suggest a
current positive relationship between the success of food advertising and
childhood obesity.
In another study
in Canada, researchers “found that a 32-year ban on fast-food advertising to
kids in electronic and print media in Quebec resulted in a 13 percent reduction
in fast-food expenditures and an estimated 2 billion to 4 billion fewer
calories consumed by children in the province.” (For the full article: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/ban-on-advertising-to-children-linked-to-lower-obesity-rates/)
Some other related links
Some other related links
Check out the
link for an informative infographic on just how much of an impact advertisement
has on children, broken down by age.
For parents
interested in further reading on the topic or tactics on how to help your
children process advertiser’s messages, click below:
-This YouTube
video gives a great description on the impact of food advertising on childhood
obesity in America.
-This article gives
a general overview of the amount of hours children watch TV and the
relationship between those hours and obesity. The relationship described
in this infographic was interesting in the way it compares the amount of TV,
video games, etc the children plays in relationship to the amount of unhealthy
meals they consume.
-This article summarizes the fact that children’s obesity in all ages
has increased from 1980 to 2008. They showed 20 children 60 familiar food logos
and 60 nonfamiliar food logos and recorded how their brains responded. They
found a pretty predictable discovery when comparing responses from obese
children to healthy children.
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