“Advertising - A Judicious Mixture Of Flattery And Threats.”

No matter where children are or what they are doing they’ll always find some sort of advertisements. It can be when their casually watching television, reading a magazine or just playing games on their computer. Advertisements are different forms of communication whose purpose is to make their product known to the public. Marketers aren’t partial to certain people; they target anyone and every age group, but recently there has been an upsurge of advertisements aimed towards children. In Eric Schlosser’s article, Kid Kustomers, he demonstrates how child advertising has boomed by the tactics marketers use to get children to want and demand certain companies’ products.

In today’s media obsessed society, youth is greatly influenced by advertising. For example, Marketing to kids gets more savvy with technologies is how they ,“Online games like Webkinz show ads on the site draw youth to buy the product or just to look at it for ‘money’”. Because this tactic works, the ads are an excellent at make youth to talk about this and be annoyed. In Facts about Marketing to Children, it says, “Children pack 8.5 hours of media a day’, is what the Facts about Marketing to Children says.” Because children are on the media so much it is easy for marketers to advertise and get children to buy the product. “ Anne Lappe says that when her daughter grows up, and goes to a movie, the character might have a soda or fast food.”

One of the most successful marketers is quoted in the article “Get kids to nag their parents and nag them well”(260). In the initial few sections, he discussed the present time effects of the advertising on youngsters. Through this he contend that, previously, there weren't numerous child based marketing organizations that concentrated exclusively with respect to children and have their own kids' divisions, while now, they have huge amounts of organizations that makes a whole advertising division for the

In order for advertisers to gain consumers of their products, the advertisers know they have to use certain strategies to reach out to all the different ages. Children today consume vast majorities of media spending up to 44.5 hours or more per week watching television, on the

The author is very good at gathering specific data and examination. It is clear that Schlosser's purpose is to change the way you consume and the way you use cash, and additionally the way you think. Schlosser truly gives a flawless insight about his clarification upon marketing methods utilized on kids and in addition the reason for it. A marketing strategy plan to increment present deals, as well as future deals. “Growth in children’s advertising has been driven by efforts to increase not just current, but also future, consumption. Hoping that nostalgic childhood memories of a brand will lead to a lifetime of purchases” (Schlosser, 2011, p.259). In this citation, Schlosser claim that advertising on kids could make a greater possibility of brand royalty, which will keep the kids on purchasing items from this brand for the rest of their life. The introduction fits the body of the essay, it was clear and effective. The introductions opened a lot of discussions about the essay and it made me want to know more about the

Schlosser’s article, “Kid Kustomers”, discusses the highly popular topic of children being targeted by vicious advertisers. This topic is remarkably appropriate for today culture due to the abundance of advertisement thrown into every child, man and women’s everyday life. The rapid growth of advertisers and their plans to target children in order boost sales in a company has compelled the writer to cover this topic and discern the truth. Schlosser’s article educates readers in an effective manner due to, exceptional use of rhetorical appeals, the quality of information presented, and the tone and style he uses.

Do you ever watch the Super Bowl for its commercials? Have you ever bought a more expensive product because you had seen its advertisement? If the answer is yes, then you might have been a victim of today’s marketers. Jean Kilbourne, the author of “Killing us Softly” stated in one of her lectures, “The influence of advertising is quick, cumulative and for the most part, subconscious, ads sell more products.” “Advertising has become much more widespread, powerful, and sophisticated.” According to Jean Kilbourne, “babies at six months can recognize corporate logos, and that is the age at which marketers are now starting to target our children.” Jean Kilbourne is a woman who grew up in the 1950s and worked in the media field in the 1960s. This paper will explain the methods used by marketers in today’s advertising. An advertisement contains one or more elements of aesthetics, humor, and sexual nature.

Advertisements are everywhere. They are a major part of modern day society. Whether it be a television commercial, an internet banner, or a billboard, advertisements influence people of all ages, but they affect a certain age group much more than others. Children ranging from toddlers to teenagers are exposed to thousands upon thousands of advertisements each year. Some of these advertisements are damaging to children, while others are a positive influence. Advertisements can either be used as a tool or a weapon. Food advertisements and manipulation strategies are both positive and negative, and how companies use them decides whether or not marketing to children is ethical.

Schlosser writes, “companies now plan ‘cradle to grave’ advertising strategies” (354) when describing the way advertisers’ plans for lifelong consumption. The author describes one tactic used by advertiser’s to increase consumption by using marketing campaigns which begin at a young age and continue on throughout the consumer’s lifetime. The author uses the phrase, “Cradle to Grave” to describe how the targeted advertising campaigns will be life long, as well as to include the dark connotation of the word “Grave” connecting to death in a sarcastic manner. This word choice creates a caustic tone for the audience to adopt towards the advertisers providing much of the author’s own tone. Schlosser describes how advertisers, “After largely ignoring children for years, […] began to scrutinize and pursue them” (353). Within the first paragraph of his essay the author describes the practice of marketing to children as to, “scrutinize and pursue”. The author uses the negative connotations associated with both “scrutinize” and “pursue” in order to make a connection for the audience between these practices and the practices of an animal hunting prey. The author uses word choice in order to indirectly criticize the practices of advertisers, which allows him to remain seemingly unbiased. The

Eric Schlosser’s essay, “Kid Kustomers,” concludes and makes several strong points about the marketing on children. He starts his essay with a brief comparison that “twenty-five years ago, only a handful of American companies directed their marketing at children,” whereas today, “children are being targeted by phone companies, oil companies, and automobile companies…” He emphasizes and stresses the importance of having “Kid Kustomers,” because one important marketing strategy is to aim to “increase not just current, but also future, consumption.” Schlosser learns that ad agencies target children because they make up a majority of their sales. Throughout the essay, Schlosser not only gives marketing tips but also discusses the 7 different types

In the essay “Kid Kustomers” by Eric Schlosser, the author addresses how companies use advertising as a way to lure children into buying their products. The author eventually convinces the reader that children then influence their parents into buying the product as well. Schlosser incorporates statistics about how much McDonald's sold their happy meals to children between the age of three and nine. This is simply because children watch more tv and go on the internet more; therefore, they are more likely to see more advertising, and eventually pursue their parents to buy them the product. In an informative tone, the author is speaking to parents with young

Schlosser finalises by transitioning through making claims of the increasing importance of the social media mainly television and Internet as crucial approaches in advertising. Schlosser uses rhetorical approach in the “Kid Kustomers” through his survey findings from the journal of the American Medical Association, through his findings he brings up James U. McNeal, that analysis of “Kid Kustomers” by Eric Schlosser is considered the leading authority on children advertising. After his business analysis, he also uses psychological experts and the president of Youth Market System consulting besides the author to show what kids want and buy. The rhetorical approach is also visible through his focus on the rules of the advertisers through information got from federal investigations and the Federal Trade Commission laying emphasis on Michael Pertschuk and the chairperson.

Companies are continuously in search of innovative marketing techniques by encouragingly establishing individuals to purchase their advertised products. As intelligent as marketing companies are, they are indeed aware of the fact that adults are more likely to watch an advertisement and detect why they should or should not purchase such product. In such instances where the company cannot reach the focus of an adult, parent, or parental figure, marketers will target young children and teens in their advertising campaigns. Advertising campaigns targeting the youth have significantly impacted the ethical consideration in the children’s market through media, ethics, as well as food advertising to children.

As people continue to live with advertisements, they may alter who we are in some aspects of life. In Eric Schlosser's acclaimed book, Fast Food Nation, the "Kid Kustomers" chapter puts the spotlight on children's advertising, how it affects them, and what Madison Avenue does to achieve in such a field. Schlosser notes that advertisers persuade children by convincing them into various nagging tactics [to be continued]. [Elaborate on Schlosser's excerpt in no more than 2-3 sentences; reflect back to my early years of computer use, notably when my parents scolded me for going into a questionable site]. Keep in mind that kids are not the only ones to be easily persuaded by advertisements. The most vital weaponry advertisers use to snatch kids and adults likewise are — simply put — words. American linguist William Lutz presents "weasel words" in his article, "With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything," and how advertisements use these manipulative words to cheapen the lives of consumers. Words like "help," "virtually," "new," and much more to list, easily convince people to believe that some products will do as advertised. For the most part, the ads for those products are dishonest as their words mean nothing in truth. The trick with "weasel words" is they lead consumers into a fantasy, and typically they will not be able to make this distinction. Companies can be hit by lawsuits depending on the context of their ads, however they will continue to trick consumers into believing the life-changing, but hollow potential of their products in any case. On the whole, advertisements shape us as individuals in some circumstances as we regularly take them for

Marketing to children is not a new phenomenon; however, there have been many ethical debates on its rightness; is advertising to children a gentle persuasion of the innocent or a sinister threat to our society? There’s too much as stake if we remain silent and simply assume that marketing companies have our children’s best interests at heart; the truth is they don’t. This paper will explore to implications of marketing to children and the overall effects it has on our society. I will argue that advertising to children is a social problem. In the first part of my paper I will discuss why advertising to children is ethically wrong, I will then discuss what has changed; this will be followed by a discussion as to why it is a social problem and finally, I will conclude my paper by discussing what should be done to change it. Please note this paper is written in the first person as I have children and I have a vested interest in this topic.