Children’s products and foods is an enormous market offering great profits and potential growth for companies. While giving parents increasing difficulties in raising and managing their children. Modern commercials are becoming increasingly influential on the things children want and tends to go against what their parents want or know is best for them. In America and the rest of the industrialized world the fight against child advertising is in full swing by governments and various campaigners. In an effort to enact better regulation and standards for making commercials geared towards children, as well as fighting for improvements in food quality. But the industries are fighting back leading in the preference for self-regulation based on the argument that it is a matter of choice by individuals and parents.
There are now 52 million children in the United States under the age of 12, just there for the various American companies to capture, as children are the greatest and most powerful portion of demographics. Children spend from their allowances alone a sum of approximately $40 billion dollars annually on what children like best, their toys, and snacks and of course electronic devices no child seems to be without in this day and age. In addition to what children spend themselves from their pocket money each year, parents are influenced by their children and wards to spend a tune estimated at a whopping $700 billion a year! Which is greater than the combined sum of 115 of the world’s poorest economies.
‘Consuming Kids’, a documentary that unwraps the shrewd marketing practices that amounts to millions of dollars. indicating that one major role of advertising to children is to turn children into consumers for a lifetime, as they influence their family’s money from childhood purchased, through to adolescence and then adulthood. The documentary goes against the purpose of wholesale commercialization, and brings pertinent questions to the forefront about the effects of children’s marketing in terms of ethical dilemmas, health and well-being of children.
The documentary ‘Consuming kids’ utilizes the insights of various professionals, from health care, to children’s advocates and even industry insiders, as the maker of the film narrows in on the ridiculously volatile growth of children’s marketing. Hot on the heels of deregulation, which only serves to highlight how young marketers are making use of the most recent advances in neuroscience, psychology, and anthropology, to completely change children into the most profitable consumer and one of the most powerful demographics in the world. Especially America, where children unlike many in other countries are not given allowances or even pocket money.
The documentary opens with an historical view of advertising regulations and standards in the United States during the 1970s. These regulations was able to limit the negative effects commercials had on children, especially those geared toward them. During this time the regulations were focuses on ads about cereals containing high sugar content, which is deemed undesirable to children’s health. The film then goes to highlight that the lack of advertising regulation in modern society is at the core of the marketing industry that is given leaf to operate in such a predatory, hyper-kinetic and multimedia exemplary. And this lack of regulations is thought to be brought about during the presidency of Reagan when specially directed commercials to children had become the norm.
The television shows and toys phenomenon was brought about by the great increase unregulated advertising toward children. Where the industry for creating characters such as Transformers, He-Man, and G.I. Joe was born by using the vehicle of a half hour cartoon block on television. This as you can see is has become a predominant aspect of today’s social culture, not only do industries create cartoon characters, but those of pop stars and even those associated with various fast food establishments.
The documentary then looks at the point that is continually made by business that the decision is ultimately the parents. The films goes against that popular adage because it believes that indiscriminate media targeting that children are privy to cannot be totally control by parents. As modern day families tend to have both parents working, leaving no one to constantly monitor a child’s activity while at home.
Then the realization that due to technological advancements ads are seen everywhere not just on televisions at home, so the parent has even less control of what children are exposed to once the exit the front door of their home. ‘Consumer Kids’ seeks to attribute the cause of various childhood ailments to media targeting, which even though legal through regulations are highly immoral when one looks at the continuous increase in depression, obesity, diabetes, etcetera in children.
A brief look at the “Marketing and the Vulnerable,” by George Brenkert in various ways coincides with the documentary ‘Consumer Kids’ that there are definitely ethical issues. When businesses seeks to target children, known as the most vulnerable of society as their demographics for marketing.
Ethical issues are neither black nor white but tends to fall into the grey area. Brenkert has failed to be persuasive in his lack of physical evidence that the immoral or in ethical marketing (such as deception and manipulation) to vulnerable demographics such as children does indeed cause harm. However between Brenkert’s paper and the documentary ‘Consumer Kids’, the unethical activities of markers and their corresponding companies has definitely brought about a debate on the issue of children advertising and ethical issues surrounding it. Let us then take a look at the methods of unethical marketing being utilized especially in children’s advertising.
Stealth marketing has been on the rise, and marketers have no qualms about using it in children’s advertising, to ensure the full effect of the now popular ‘nag factor’. Science has become an important ingredient in marketing to children, specifically in achieving the nag factor. The scientific aspect of the process aids marketers in answering the question "what kind of tantrums work better." That is figuring out the type of commercials that will have children asking for products and services constantly. In other words nagging or driving their parents up the wall both privately and publicly, until said parent or guardian relents.
Deregulation has unleashed the means to ruin the vulnerable, specifically children through advertising. The rise of obesity and diabetes alone is cause for concern. If marketers had any sense of ethics they would see what they have helped to induce, a world that is increasing in chronic diseases by starting early to neglect health and well-being. An IOM report published in 2006 provides evidence that the lo-nutrient, high-calorie foods and beverages being marketing to the children of the world are indeed related to overweight and obesity. There is no question or doubt that adverting is extremely influential on the preferences, and consumption of food and beverages that children request. It works extremely well, just look at McDonald’s ‘golden arches’ or the happy clown ‘Ronald McDonald’, most toddlers and children between the ages of 2 years to 11 years have no problem identifying either.
Another example of the results of deregulation is deception which can be seen in an ad campaign from Coca-Cola. They have surrounded their campaign with falsehood, sending out to the masses the mistaken belief that the counting of calories is the way to beat obesity. In essence the company is saying that the populous should disregard years of extensive research and scientific evidence that soda, which are full of sugar is in FACT a major factor to the problem of overweight and obesity. In all truth Coca-Cola is using this ploy as a means to confuse the populous about the negative, and even life threatening dangers of its products. This is not only a dis-service to the public and it loyal customers but it is unseemly unethical and immoral.
Advertising to children is dangerous, and not all are ignoring its consequences. In 1991, Sweden implemented a ban to all commercials being aired during the time children mainly watch television. This was done due to results of research, which indicated that children ages 10 years and under are unable to discern the difference between advertisements and programs. Unethical tactics in advertising to kids is also manipulating the children’s understanding of the world.
Toddlers, children and young people are particularly vulnerable to the influence of marketing efforts through advertising, media, false/fake news, and manipulation of imagery. That is a constant attack of what is deemed beautiful, what is perfection, what to eat and drink, these are what conjure up health issue in children. Not just the obvious obesity but also stress, anxiety, anorexia and bulimia, among others. And let us not forget the disease of ‘gluttonous’ as there are also ads that comes in streams enticing children and young people to the ‘benefits’ of toys, various brands of clothing and electronics, and even cars.
The documentary ‘Consumer kids, and the paper “Marketing and the Vulnerable,” by George Brenkert sheds light that is desperately needed on the relentless marketing tactics that sell to both children and their parents everything. From the good such as educational products, a family car, food for healthy living, etc., to the bad junk foods, violent video games, and all the lies about beauty and perfection. Now there is a healthy debate, let us see if to leads to change in the advertising regulations that will help to still the decline of our children or will it continually be over looked.
Works Cited
Barbaro, Adriana & Jeremy Earp. “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood”. Anthropology Review Database. Oct 2010. Web. Dec 11, 2014 <http://wings.buffalo.edu/ARD/cgi/showme.cgi?keycode=3667>
Mercola, Joseph, Dr. “‘Consuming Kids’ Reveals Shocking Tactics Used to Manipulate Your Children’s Preferences and Habits”. Mercola. June 08, 2013. Web. Dec 11, 2014. <http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/08/children-marketing.aspx>
Palmer, David. “The Ethics of Marketing to Vulnerable Populations”. Journal of Business ethics. N.d. Web. Dec 12, 2014. <http://www.researchgate.net/publication/257541885_The_Ethics_of_Marketing_to_Vu lnerable_Populations>
Shah, Anup. “Children as Consumers”. Global Issues. Sept 07, 2001, Updated Nov 21, 2010. Web. Dec 11, 2014 <http://www.globalissues.org/article/237/children-as-consumers>
“Consuming Kids”. Top Documentary Films, 66 minutes. 2008. Web. Dec 11, 2014. <http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/consuming-kids/>
