nearly 40 000 TV ads per year Typical hour of commercial TV for children features 9 11 minutes of ads Advertising and Children Why advertisers target children Kids have their own money Kids influence parents spending Kids can be socialized intro brand loyalty cradle to grave marketing 1970s 1980s Today Children viewed 20 000 product commercials year 30 000 product commercial s year Program length commercials TV and beyond More than 9 in 10 young people have TV s in their home 2 3 have a TV set in their own bedroom Children are now marketed to in unprecedented ways brand licensing product placement viral marketing via schools the Internet Content of Ads targeting kids Most ads toys cereal candy snacks fast food restaurant food dominates Average tween 8 12 yr old sees 21 food ads per day Very small percentage for healthy foods Food ads more often targeting kids rather than adults Ads emphasize food happiness and taste positive emotion with the product Stereotypes based on gender and race are prevelent Commercial Examples Barbie Ken Furby Hotwheels Children Advertising Developmental Differences Comparing how age defines advertising attention span Patterns of attention younger children attend more and longer than older children Distinction between the ad and the program Younger children can t distinguish them well Distinction made based on perceptual features Separators required since 1974 not usually effective Burger King online Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon Purpose of ads Who is the source children don t understand who and why this ad is there Younger children think ads are there for entertainment or information Recognition of bias kids think the ads are telling the truth more vulnerable Host Selling eg selling Smurfberry Crunch cereal during a break in the Smurf s cartoon Common in 1950s 62 of ads enhanced through repeat exposure prizes celebrity character endorsements Banned since 1974 Disclaimers Honey Nut Cheerios warnings or disclosures intended to prevent deception caused by an ad common for a cereal ads part of a nutritious breakfast poor comprehension among children Ethical issues Effects of Advertising on Children Brand Loyalty Desire for products Parent child conflict Materialism 1 Recognition of brands Children are highly aware of brand names most children 3 6 recognize McDonalds Burger King logos Children 8 12 could name 5 different brands of beer 4 US Presidents 2 Desire for products compared to light TV viewers children who watch more TV want more advertised toys consume more advertised food want more brand name products Experimental studies randomly assigned to view or not view commercials Then choose a toy snack beverage etc Results show ads can increase desire for product increase positive attitude 3 Materialism Children who consume more commercial media report more materialistic attitudes Experimental evidence preschoolers randomly assigned to view a toy ad or not view one Those who saw the ad were more likely to 1 want to play with the toy 2 want the toy even if it meant playing with a not so nice boy 3 want the toy more than playing with friends in the sandbox getting at the importance of the product MODERATED BY PARENT CHILD COMMUNICATION ABOUT CONSUMPTION 4 Parent child conflict Advertising exposure correlated with more purchase request More purchase requests associated with more conflict Experiment 36 mothers and 3 5yr old children randomly assigned to view cartoon cartoon 6 ads for candy chips observed while shopping children who saw the ads made 50 more purchase request asked for advertised products 2x more Children s Processing of Advertising Cognitive development changes with age young kids process info differently than older kids and adults Important shift occurs around ages 7 8 perceptual boundedness centration egocentrism only think from own perspective age cognition Sensory Motor Pre operational Concrete Operations Formal Operations 0 2 2 7 7 12 12 Attention to Advertising Adults and older children pay less attention to TV ads than they do to TV shows But young children DO pay attention to ads example TRIX commercial colorful pitch of the voice high unusual Reason Perceptual Boundedness younger kids focus on perceptually salient cues Ads use attention getting formal features jingles fast cuts animation Older kids pay less attention to these cues 2nd graders Program Commercial Discrimination young children under 5 cannot distinguish commercials from surrounding pro they could accurately identify commercials only 53 of the time about the grams same time as chance Many programs use Bumpers brief announcements placed between program and commercial break we ll be right back after these messages Often doesn t help too brief looks like program examples Nickelodeon com Chips Ahoy Understanding Persuasive Intent of the receiver 1 The source of the messages has other perspectives and other interest than those 2 Persuasive messages are biased 3 Biased messages demand different interpretive strategies e g skepticism than do unbiased messages kids under 7 8 are relatively egocentric lack perspective taking ability Chart look on notes Recognizing Persuasive Intent Why does this matter failure to understand selling intent alters processing recognizing selling motive triggers a cognitive defense against such messages w out this young children are more easily persuaded Comprehension of Disclaimers Warnings disclosures to prevent possible deception batteries not included parts sold separately 1 2 of ads tartgeting children use one usually NOT salient e g formal features Cognitive Development 3 big problems Young kids pay attention to ads perceptual boundedness Program advertisement discrimination kids 5 can t distinguish programs from commercial Understanding persuasive intent kids age 7 8 unable to discern commercials are selling something due to ego centrism Implications young children may blindly accept all info given to them in the ads Online Food Advertising to Children 85 of top food brands that target kids with TV ads have online ads Yale Rudd Center Study sugary bfast cereals fastfood Allows kids to interact with ads longer time more personal experience Advergames 73 example Frootloops FCC Regulations Early 1970s Action for Children s TV ACT Commercial time limits Separation principle bumpers required host selling prohibited program length commercials prohibited 1980s advertising Controversy Bumpers and Host selling still remain Children s Television Act 1990