Marketing to Children

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.”

Children are exposed to roughly twenty-seven food advertisements per day on television (Schor). That number does not include the many other forms of advertisements children are objected to every day. One of the most popular and effective methods of marketing is by using cross-promotional techniques. Toys, giveaways, and packages are commonly used in cross-promotional activities by associating junk food with movie and cartoon characters. McDonalds is arguably one of the most successful corporations at selling products to children and can credit most of their success to the toys that accompany a Happy Meal. Children are encouraged to purchase Happy Meals multiple times in order to collect all of the toys in the series. Cereal brands are also recognized for including movie related prizes with the purchase of a box of cereal. Packages sometimes offer premiums and giveaways to trips relating to movies. The partnership between movies and junk food brands turn movies into advertisements themselves. The movies will have product placement at eye level to children in a partner ship. Product placement can take place by mentioning a product name or showing the brand. Another popular method of cross-promotional activities is by associating cartoon characters with snack foods. Macaroni cheese shaped like SpongeBob, fruit snacks shaped like Scooby Doo, and Jimmy Neutron shaped crackers are not uncommon. Children have reportedly argued that food tastes better when it is in the shapes of cartoons (Consuming

product. As result there are several techniques used to marketing children to create the goal of

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

Commercials through television and radio aimed towards children are ethical because it helps build healthy ideals. Through commercials, children can see that doing certain things are good for you! They can see that it is what they should do. “Advertising and marketing techniques could encourage children to eat

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.

Children think that because their favorite character is eating McDonalds, then it is okay for them to eat McDonalds as well. Unfortunately, there are many other forms of marketing out there. For example, there is product placement, viral marketing, and sponsorships (Frechette 2015). Good marketing can include anything that has to do with fruits, vegetables, or being active. Unfortunately, you don’t see much of that on television. If Americans can change how they market to children and how they market food choices, then obesity can be managed better and children can live a longer life without the fear of diseases.

The food industry has mastered the delicate art of trickery over many years and has been able to convince consumers to buy their products, thinking they are healthy, when in reality they are contributing immensely to the obesity epidemic in America. Food corporations have developed a marketing strategy where they target juvenile audiences with their products. The companies do this by having advertisements on children's television programs encouraging children to buy their processed, high-sugar food products. Companies get kids’ attention by including beloved children's figures with their commercials, thus piquing their interest. Children view their favorite characters on television programs and ask their parents or guardians to purchase the items for them and the parents, remaining blissfully unaware that they are relinquishing their child's health to mass food corporations, concede and buy the food, which causes their child to become unhealthy and eventually obese. Another way food companies market their products is by embedding their advertisements with words like “Cheap, easy, fast”, which appeals to low income families looking for a inexpensive meal, or families on the go that need to quickly get a bite to eat. Due to the fact that unhealthy fast food choices are often the easiest method for gaining a quick meal, more and more families are

Schools no longer cook meals, but rather reheat meals given to the school through the government. Sodexo representative Barbara Brown in one school says, “Part of our position is that we’re hoping that through nutrition education, the students will learn to make the right food choice,” yet she represents schools that give snack bars, Gatorade, and pizza as school lunches (Spurlock). McDonald’s especially caters towards young children. According to Spurlock’s Supersize Me, a study showed that children predisposed to the good feelings of cigarettes, without knowing what they are, have a higher tendency to smoke by the time they are of legal age. This theory can be applied to McDonald’s; children raised with McDonald’s Playplace, Happy Meals, kid’s toys, and french fries are more likely to grow up to go to McDonald’s more frequently than those who do not (Spurlock). McDonald’s catering to children is a good business move for them because it appeals to the parents that they care, and at the same time expose the children to their food, thus raising business and potential customers in the long run. “The most heavily advertised foods are consumed the most,” (Spurlock). In 2001, McDonald’s spent 1.2 billion dollars on direct advertisements. The children who have dinner in front of the television are raised by the advertisements and cartoons featuring

Since the dawn of radio, large corporations have exploited this vulnerability by spending large amounts of money on advertisements aimed at convincing youths and teenagers that they need their products in order to be happy. When successful, these corporations unrealistic expectations of the value of consumer products, as they convince children they will find happiness through obtaining the latest Power Ranger action figure or eating a Big Mac. The graph (Source A) demonstrates how media is targeted at various types of audiences segmented by age, like kids, teens, and adults. It is particularly telling that commercial advertisements about foods are particularly geared towards children. This may be because children are the most impressionable in this area, or this may be because children at that age develop lifelong eating habits. One would expect children to have too little purchasing power to make their own food choices, Benady suggests a possible rationale for this targeting: children have a substantial “pester power” to pressure their

We are surrounded by commercials, especially the youth. Not to mention children can be affected by these commercials, especially if they are junk food advertisements. Advertising directed to children spends over 15 billion dollars annually. According to the article Facts_About Marketing_To_Children, the youth is exposed to 40,000 television commercials per year, over 100 a day. Also, the media includes advertisements, the amount of time children spend on media is 8.5 hours a day, which has pop-up ads or marketing messages. Children cannot go one media without experiencing at least one commercial.

Fast food advertisement agencies take advantage of the ignorance of children to scam them into wanting unhealthy meals. Each year, the fast food industry spends over $3 million of advertising targeted towards children. Half of television advertisement is used during children’s shows and with cartoons. Out of all the factors

Different commodity type products are advertised to children. The ads that we observed fall into the categories of food, health and beauty products, movies and public service announcements. In the category of food items such as, cereal, candies, fruit punch, potato chips, frozen threats, hamburgers, French fries and chicken nuggets are marketed in intriguing and

Food and beverage markets capture the eyes of consumers at a young age through the use of television. Food that is advertised on television are primarily food with poor nutritional value. Food and beverage companies tend to advertise with commercials on children and family networks; such Disney Channel and FreeFrom. The article, “Children's Food and Beverage Promotion on Television to Parents,” explains the methods used to target children and their families. Marketers use rhetoric and emotional appeals that relate to family bonding (Emond et al ). The food and beverage advertisements that air on children and family audiences target two target markets: adults and children. When marketing to an adult, the advertisement usually includes nutrition and health messages, whereas, child commercials include highlighted fun, taste, and mascot (Edmond et al). According to a study conducted in 2009, 48% of all child related food and beverage marketing aired on television (Edmond et al). An average child watches 24 hours of television a week, assuming he or she also watches the commercial, the child would have encountered 12.8 food advertising during one day (Edmond et al). Honey Nut Cheerios commercials share an advertising bond between an adult and child target audience. Most Honey Nut Cheerios commercials target adults through educational facts relating to health and the importance of families living a healthy lifestyle. The commercial also appeals to children through the marketed

Food advertisements, if focused at the right people and in the right places, are a complete success. These features, some of which are commercials, seduce society into buying food that we necessarily do not need. Many advertisement companies, especially those about food, are directed to children because they know that if you grab the kids you have their parents. While brands are using fun cartoons like “Trix Rabbit” and “Toucan Sam” (Green, 2007, p. 49) supermarkets are taking these items and placing them right in front of the children, at their level, advertising the “Fun foods” (Elliot, 2008, p. 259-273). They do this so the kids will use their, “pester power” (Scholsser, n.d., p. 2) to get what they want. A series of studies have been performed on children and television advertisements. An article states, “These studies have generally linked children's television viewing to negative health effects” (Korr, 2008, p. 451). Amongst these negative effects is a higher level of childhood obesity (p. 451). Similarly, in another study performed by a group of researchers, kids were asked to explain the television commercials that they remembered the best. The answers given were then compared with their diets. Interestingly, the items those children remembered best, chips, sweets, and sodas were a huge part of what they ate (Hitching & Moynihan, 1998, p. 511-517). However, some authors argue that television producer’s, even though their