Children and Advertising

Advertising is aimed at many different groups within society however the most controversial type of advertising is that aimed at children.

From a very early age, children are bombarded with advertisements for the latest game, snack or brand of clothing. Gunter, B, Oates C and Blades M (2005) recognise that children in today’s society have more money available to them than previous generations therefore the market for children’s products has the potential for huge incomes. It could be suggested that children are viewed by advertisers as consumers of products in the same way that adults are, which can create many issues.

One of the issues identified by Beder (2009) is that it is unethical to view children as consumers and specifically target them because children do not have to knowledge to critically evaluate an advert. Many children believe that adverts tell the truth and cannot recognise the persuasive techniques used within them to make the advertisement more effective. Leiss et al (1990) supports the view that children do not have the ability to understand the persuasive intent of adverts.

It could be suggested that advertising does influence children’s perceptions of themselves. This is because, as previously mentioned, children cannot view an advert critically therefore they believe that a certain brand or make will make them popular and happy, just as it has for the child in the advert.

Gunter, B, Oates, C and Blades, M (2005) recognise that a way of educating children about advertising is to explore it within a school curriculum however they also recognise that due to the time constraints of the primary curriculum; there will be a limit to how much teachers can educate children about. Teachers need to have a secure awareness of the misconceptions created by adverts and the techniques used by advertisers to promote products. They can then explore these ideas with children and educate them about the issues surrounding advertising. It could also be argued that as children are exposed to most advertisement at home, either on the internet or while watching TV, parents also have a responsibility to educate their children about adverts. This will allow children to develop their understanding of advertising and give them the knowledge to form an educated opinion about the type of advertising they view and the impact it has on them.

Gunter, B. Oates, C. & Blades, M. (2005) Advertising to Children on TV New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates pp 1 – 13

BEDER, S. (2009) THIS LITTLE KIDDY WENT TO MARKET NEW YORK: PLUTO PRESS

Leiss, W. , Kline, S. and Jhally, S. 1990. Social Communication in Advertising: Persons, Products, and Images of Well-Being. London: Routledge.