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In a time when children are more exposed to technology more than ever, advertisements targeted at children are now more prominent more than ever. But that begs the question, is it ever really acceptable to advertise to children?
The Facts:
As of 2015, 24.3 million children under the age of 11 were regular internet users. That being said, children under the age of 12 influence more than $500 billion in purchases. Bring the two statistics together and it's clear children make up a huge target market. This would make it seem that there shouldn't really be anything wrong with advertising to kids; I mean, they a major target group, and bring in billions of dollars in profit, right? Well, not so much.
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The Problem:
According to Jennifer Harris, director of marketing initiatives at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, the top four products marketed to children are fast food, sugared cereal, sugary drinks, and candy. Now, it's one thing when it's toys being advertised to kids, but when we live in a country that has such high childhood obesity rates, perhaps the fact that McDonald's spent $42 million on Happy Meal advertising in one year is a little disconcerting. A study conducted by Thomas Robinson, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital found that
"researchers looked at the effects of branding by giving 3- to 5-year-olds two portions of identical foods, one set out on a McDonald’s wrapper. The children were asked to point to which foods tasted better and, Dr. Robinson said, “overwhelmingly, for hamburgers, French fries, baby carrots, milk or juice in a cup, kids would say the one on the McDonald’s wrapper tastes better.”"What This Means:
Dr. Robinson also found in another study done on preschoolers, just 30 seconds of exposure to a product they've never seen before changes their preferences for brand. Children are incredibly vulnerable. When adults see advertisements, they know to be skeptical. Kids on the other hand, they have a hard time distinguishing these things. Children are still learning how to separate whats fake from reality, their brains simply aren't developed enough to understand how advertising really works. And all this exposure from such a young age can have a negative impact on them. Even with middle and high school aged kids studies have found that constant exposure increases underage drinking rates and unhealthy behaviors associated with drinking.
Is there a solution?
While advertising to kids just simply can't be eliminated entirely, many businesses have taken a step in the right direction.
"In January [2014], 18 companies, including Campbell's Soup, Dannon, General Mills, Kellogg's, Pepsi, and Kraft, adopted strict category-specific nutrition criteria for food that's advertised to children, making it easier for parents to compare products across brands. Though not every item advertised to children under 12 met the new standards, companies have vowed not to advertise those products to kids until changes are made, and have gone so far as to cut certain brands from their product lines."Not to mention, McDonald's has made huge progress in their advertising as well. Happy Meal commercials now almost always advertise their apple slices, yogurt, and milk options as part of a balanced meal.
All in all, advertising to children, especially under a certain age, just isn't ethical. How can you expect such a young child to process the information their receiving from advertising in a way that isn't at all negative? The good news is we're getting to a point of change, where people are coming out and saying "hey, this isn't right" and companies are taking note. Perhaps there is some hope for the future of advertising to children.
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