The Negative Impact of Targeted Advertising on Adolescents and Children

Eric Schlosser’s essay, “Kid Kustomers,” concludes and makes several strong points about the marketing on children. He starts his essay with a brief comparison that “twenty-five years ago, only a handful of American companies directed their marketing at children,” whereas today, “children are being targeted by phone companies, oil companies, and automobile companies…” He emphasizes and stresses the importance of having “Kid Kustomers,” because one important marketing strategy is to aim to “increase not just current, but also future, consumption.” Schlosser learns that ad agencies target children because they make up a majority of their sales. Throughout the essay, Schlosser not only gives marketing tips but also discusses the 7 different types

In the essay “Kid Kustomers” by Eric Schlosser, the author addresses how companies use advertising as a way to lure children into buying their products. The author eventually convinces the reader that children then influence their parents into buying the product as well. Schlosser incorporates statistics about how much McDonald's sold their happy meals to children between the age of three and nine. This is simply because children watch more tv and go on the internet more; therefore, they are more likely to see more advertising, and eventually pursue their parents to buy them the product. In an informative tone, the author is speaking to parents with young

Marketing to children is not a new phenomenon; however, there have been many ethical debates on its rightness; is advertising to children a gentle persuasion of the innocent or a sinister threat to our society? There’s too much as stake if we remain silent and simply assume that marketing companies have our children’s best interests at heart; the truth is they don’t. This paper will explore to implications of marketing to children and the overall effects it has on our society. I will argue that advertising to children is a social problem. In the first part of my paper I will discuss why advertising to children is ethically wrong, I will then discuss what has changed; this will be followed by a discussion as to why it is a social problem and finally, I will conclude my paper by discussing what should be done to change it. Please note this paper is written in the first person as I have children and I have a vested interest in this topic.

No matter where children are or what they are doing they’ll always find some sort of advertisements. It can be when their casually watching television, reading a magazine or just playing games on their computer. Advertisements are different forms of communication whose purpose is to make their product known to the public. Marketers aren’t partial to certain people; they target anyone and every age group, but recently there has been an upsurge of advertisements aimed towards children. In Eric Schlosser’s article, Kid Kustomers, he demonstrates how child advertising has boomed by the tactics marketers use to get children to want and demand certain companies’ products.

Advertisements today are everywhere. The average consumer is bombarded with some sort of ad at every blink of an eye. In the beginning, advertisements were only seen on the television or heard on the radio, but now advertising is leaking into the consumer’s phone, in virtually every application. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, the list goes on. Advertisements are made to grab the consumer’s attention swaying them to purchase whatever it might be the producer is try to sell.

One of the most successful marketers is quoted in the article “Get kids to nag their parents and nag them well”(260). In the initial few sections, he discussed the present time effects of the advertising on youngsters. Through this he contend that, previously, there weren't numerous child based marketing organizations that concentrated exclusively with respect to children and have their own kids' divisions, while now, they have huge amounts of organizations that makes a whole advertising division for the

Children are very important to marketers. They influence their parents and friends’ decisions. Every day children 2 to 17 years of age watch between 12-21 food commercials and that’s just on television (Haupt). They are also being bombarded by ads on the internet, video games, and smart phones. They’ve also introduced fast food into the schools. Many elementary and middle schools have Pizza Huts, Taco Bells, and various other restaurants in the schools. The fruits and

Children are easily influenced, and buisnesses are aware of that. They purposfully create commercials to attract the young. Flashy, bright, colorful, silly commercials that play between every show these children are watching. Commercials that are designed to make kids want whatever they are selling. This method works very well, the evidence is obvious. Instead of letting children discover what they like, we push these objects onto them, and they buy them.

Sut Jhally, a professor of communications with a focus on advertising and consumer culture, believes that advertising is the ‘most “major ideological tool” of the marketplace’. Jhally’s statement is true in that advertising is a pervasive medium that is inescapable. Every day, people are exposed to advertising everywhere they look – the internet, television, billboards, and magazines. The messages relayed in these advertisements have a strong influence on people’s perceptions and shape their beliefs often on a subconscious level. Advertising is so prevalent that it reaches across all socio-economic classes and thus is the most influential tool available in the marketplace when it comes to shaping people’s ideologies Advertising influences every individual’s concept of identity with respect to ability, gender, race, and class.

Kids represent an important demographic to marketers because they have their own purchasing power, they influence their parents ' buying decisions and they 're the adult consumers of the future.

Advertising has always been an important part of our society. The history of advertising can be traced to pre-modern history when it served an important purpose by allowing sellers to effectively compete with other merchants for the attention of clients in Ancient Egypt. From 1704 when the first newspaper advertisement was announced, it gradually grows into a major force in American society based primarily on newspapers and magazines (Ad Age Advertising Century, 1999). It not only helps to raise the target demographics’ awareness of issues, but also educate consumers with the benefits of the product. However, advertising cannot target a particular person before the emerging of World Wide Web.

Parents will always want the very best for their children, but at what point are the values of going with the “newest and latest” instilling in a child’s set of values. Children can be exposed to 40,000 commercials a year (McBride, MSN, RN, 1). Children spend a total of $35.6 billion out of their own money on marketed products, on the other side of that $187 billion is contributed by parents and caregivers influenced by their children (Mercer, 26). But, wouldn’t it be more meaning full to appeal to an audience which trumps children spending in marketing by $151.4 billion. Unfortunately marketers are only looking for the money in the moment not to look for long-term consumers. For a consumer to make a difference in an ever schematic market some difficult changes must be made. Consumers should not buy products that use commercials to target children and young audiences, marketers should be focusing there advertisements on consumers who are financially capable to purchase the product.

Children and teenagers form a good number of the world’s population. Their large numbers means they are a good market for any product that targets them. Their customer loyalty is also outstanding since they do this until they outgrow the product. Companies that sell to this age group usually have to do their marketing once in a while since most of the marketing is done by their clients, the children and teens. Children and teens make this possible by asking their parents to buy them products similar to those of their peers.

In 2006, the average young person could see up to three thousand advertisements every day via television, the Internet, billboards, and magazines (“Children,” ). As society grows to be more digital, the number of advertisements seen has only increased. With the advertising business expanding to new platforms such as social media, advertisers have found more ways to manipulate the minds of Americans to want to buy the merchandise they are selling. In this quickly growing business, advertisers know the influence they have on the general population, and they usually target those who will be the most influenced. Typically, the younger ages tend to be easily influenced by the advertisements they see. Young people have a desire to be like everyone else; they see advertisements with people around their age and think everyone else has it so they get it as well. Since minors are most easily influenced, advertisers follow the most popular platforms among young people, such as the Internet, and persuade them to buy products. This means that advertisements are essentially everywhere. Advertising has become so widespread and subtle that young people barely notice companies’ strategies and the impact on today’s youth.

Today, many marketers are aiming their advertisements at children under the age of twelve. Organizations and companies target young children through advertisements to influence their parents purchasing decisions. The industry consists primarily of apparel, toys, and food. Areas of concern arise when the advertisements of these products influences children’s perceptions and desires for fast food, alcohol and tobacco, sex, and purchasing in general. The estimated $500 billon industry is a lucrative one to enter; however, some question the ethics of advertising to young consumers. This research paper aims to discuss what’s being done with advertisements to children and ethical dilemmas surrounding advertisements directed at children.