Debate Advertising Towards Children Can Only Be Seen as Harmless

Introduce team members- Aidan Laura Marketing Debate Notes: On average, children in the U. S will watch 25 000 – 40 000 television ads per year. $15 – $17 billion is spent on these ads ? marketers see children as the future and aim to create brand loyalty from a young age. Therefore positive advertising at children will help shape the future ? developing healthy/positive lifestyles in children from a young age van only benefit society in the long run. Children’s diets result from the interplay of many factors. Multiple factors account for childhood obesity, including individual, social, environmental and cultural factors. Parents & Money There are many children who appear not to be adversely affected by marketing targeted at them ? their parents’ instilled good values in them. Positive Effects of Advertising Children are the future and therefore allowing them to be subjected to more adult concepts that are displayed to them in marketing such as decision-making and critical thought can only prepare them better for the future. Marketing to children (and as a whole) works because it lives off of deeply held beliefs about self-expression & freedom of choice ? ideologies that children can only benefit from being exposed to. Marketers use overly creative tools to engage the young audience – this creativity can used in the future to be successful. Communication in itself can be a force for real good ? this good is often overshadowed by the bad effects marketing has on, however if it has the power to do this then the positive advertising must have the potential to be as effective. Marketing helps develop children’s media literacy and critical decision making, which are necessary in adulthood. Through marketing, children learn to analyse what they are presented with and become more street wise. Positive Advertising Examples Nickelodeon: encourages physical activity, community sport participation, consumption of fresh fruit and veg Harry Potter Books marketing: nowadays massive budgets are given to book releases as well as movies – Harry Potter and Twilight books were promoted heavily and the igh sales of these books shows how successful the marketing was. Aus Kick and other community sports advertisements: advertising and sports sponsorship encourage children to participate in some form of physical exercise. Breakfast Cereals: all children’s breakfast cereals either promote healthy learning (sultana bran- fight the fuzzies) or physical activity (nutrigrain- ironman, weetbix- aus cricket team). These cereals are often sponsored by a sports team or organisation and therefore the cereals brand can be seen when watching these sports along with the primary advertising. This encourages children to value physical exercise and value their education. In 1998 3,000 children and teenagers under the age of 18 years in the United States begun smoking. Non-profit organizations and government agencies used social marketing and advertising to prevent children and youth from starting smoking. Now in 2010 the number has dropped remarkably due to advertising, which as changed the social norm. Children and young people are an interested and active consumer audience that should be acknowledged, valued and respected. Figure 2 ‘What I eat every day’ was a clear concern, with 83% considering this important. Similar studies during the late 1990s carried out by HPI for Procter and Gamble and Sunny Delight showed children far less concerned about their daily diet than they are nowadays (advertising is benefiting children). Daily diet was important across the age spectrum, with children as young as six to nine saying what they eat was important. What they eat every day was important to 81% of 14-16 year olds. Figure 6 Children understand the context and consequences of healthy eating. They were asked how they thought eating healthily could beneifit them and while fuel and growth was naturally highest scoring, they also recognized that healthy eating gives energy and promotes general well-being. They themselves talk a lot about balance; they know eating healthy eating promotes well-being as well as helping you grow. They acknowledge the need for a variety of different foods (dairy for bones, vitamins in fruit and veg) although most are unsure why. Burt. M. , 2009, Marketing to Children – An Ethical Predicament, Ethical Corporation. http://www. ethicalcorp. com/content. asp? ContentID=425 (accessed 3rd March 2010) Benady. D. , 2008, The Positive Power of Pestering, Marketing Week. Shah. A. , 2008, Children as Consumers, Global Issues, http://www. globalissues. org/article/237/children-as-consumers (accessed 10th March 2010)