Why Do Teenagers Strengthen Advertising?

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.

The ethos appeal is present in the Michael Jordan, LT and Polamalu commercials the most. In the Everything’s an argument textbook, it says, “We tend to accept arguments from those we trust, and we trust them in good part because of their reputations. Three main elements – trustworthiness/credibility, authority, and unselfish or clear motive – add up to ethos” (45). Of course, Nike wouldn’t use any one that had some trouble or were untrustworthy to represent their company. They know better than to include Sammy Sosa and Ray Rice to be representatives; however, someone like Michael Jordan is a great choice because of the influence he has had on many people. Michael Jordan is a role model to many; whereas, Sammy Sosa should not be one because of the illegal actions during his baseball career. He was “unaware” of the fact that he had used a corked bat during a game. Even though all his bats were tested and came back clean, Slammin’ Sammy had jeopardized much of his success from the past. Nike keeps a strong ethos by partnering themselves with famous athletes that everyone has at least heard of. Famous athletes increase their credibility because of the belief that if those athletes use their products then the product must be superior to its competitors. It proves that Nike is a high quality brand. By using famous athletes in their commercials, Nike shows that their products are not just

Celebrities can have significant influence on consumer choices because some people want to be like celebrities, so they’ll buy whatever they see celebrities using or wearing. For example, Stephen Curry advertises Under Armor. Under Armor thinks that since Stephen Curry has a shoe deal with them and has a big following, he’ll be able to get people to buy the product he’s advertising. This example shows testimonial and how Stephen Curry is advertising the products. Another example shows Lil Yachty advertising Sprite.

Today, more than ever, teenage girls are influenced by magazines, billboards, television, movies, and most of all advertisements. While the advertisements of models that have been airbrushed to flawlessness may sell products, the effects on teen girls is undeniable. Over the past decade the numbers of depression, eating disorders, and hypersexuality in young girls has been steadily on the rise. False advertising in way of airbrushing, heavy editing, and photoshopping models has had negative effects on teen girls and according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) policy, false advertisement is illegal. It may be stretching it calling photoshopping false advertising, but nonetheless manipulating young, impressionable girls into believing

Celebrities can have significant influence on consumer choices because they are recognizable audience. Michael Jordan has been known to sell his shoes to a company and is a basketball player. This example shows that Michael Jordan show’s that he can sell good shoes because he is a famous basketball player. So this makes people want to buy things that Michael Jordan shows or has.

more than sell the product. The athlete actually becomes a ‘human brand’ in his or her own right.”

Commercials also affect the mentality of young children. In every commercial advertising toys demonstrates how cars are for boys and dolls are for girls. There are always commercials about girls playing with a toy house, cooking appliance, or a beautiful barbie doll. Additionally, there are commercials about boys playing with action figures, cars, and sports. In the article “Care Bears vs. Transformers: Gender Stereotypes in Advertisements” Dr. Monica Brasted mentions her experience at a fast food restaurant with her daughter. In her daughter’s happy meal she received a carebear, when her daughter wanted a transformer. The cashier assumed since she was a girl she would like a carebear rather than a transformer. This demonstrates how society believes there are specific toys made for each gender and only that gender can play with it. Brasted stated “Research indicates that the media, particularly advertising, has played a role in the perpetuation of gender stereotypes in our culture.” Basically, Brasted is proving the point that many commercials have shown gender roles and have influences in young kids. All these commercials in their own perspective show how it is okay for a woman and men to abide to these rules society has created.

From little to big, every kid looks up to star athletes for motivation. They dress like them, act like them and even emulate them. Athletes are more than just people, they are role models. In the commercial, Gatorade uses athletes in congruence with motivational music to influence viewers into believing Gatorade has the ability to boost player’s attributes making them become the people we want to be. Throughout this commercial the viewers observe these athletes straining, through workouts, to get better in the sport they play.

Isis used the internet to target three teenage girls from Britain, who may have traveled to Syria to join. Isis is using children and young adults in untruthful advertisement in order to draw other children into their group especially young girls. In one posted video, it shows young boys dressed in military attire and Isis bandanas learning hand-to-hand combat. These young boys are known as the “Cubs of the Caliphate” (http://wgno.com).

Through market research, Nike found the most impressionable consumers were these Football Obsessed Teens. Generally, these teens were around 17 years in age, Nike’s target age. Nike felt that the “17-year-od consumers were more independent, more driven in their football goals, could choose their own brand, buy their own products and form brand loyalty.” However, Nike recognized that this change would require an adjustment in their marketing efforts. Primarily, these consumers were not just “aspirational” but rather “inspirational,” a type of consumer that will want the tools to become the best possible player.

Imagine your eight year old self watching this commercial that features Olympic athletes—your role models—eating Chicken McNuggets, French Fries, and a McFlurry. Instantly, you feel obligated to go to McDonald’s to buy the same thing; after all, you want to be just like them. Athletes build a bridge between consumer and company, which helps companies—like McDonald’s—sell more of their product (Arthur). For this reason, McDonald’s sponsors many popular athletes, including the following: Charles Barkley, Usain Bolt, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and Michael Phelps—just to name a few (McDonald's Endorsers - Athletes). When fit athletes are featured in junk food commercials, people perceive

When trying to understand why marketers have chosen to increasingly focus their attention on teenagers, three key points point to the answer. First, advertisers have increasing access to the market demographic. Secondly, the demographic shows continuing growth. And third, the demographic demonstrates a steady growth in their influence over spending. As Keith Niedermeier, Wharton visiting professor of marketing and panel moderator at the “What Teens Want” conference stated, "Teens are an enormously important segment because they are disproportionately powerful in terms of being trend setters and early adopters” (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu)

For many years now, every major company utilizes the likeness of professional athletes and Hollywood stars to push their products on consumers. One of these companies that are relatively young is Under Armour. “In 1996, Kevin Plank, a 23-year-old former University of Maryland special teams captain, turned an idea born on the football field into a new industry that changed the way athletes dress forever” (1996-1998, n.d., p.1). This young company, Under Armour, is currently utilizing the likeness of such stars as Stephen Curry, The Rock, and Jordan Spieth to market their product to new customers. Are there other more effective methods that companies such as Under Armour can utilize to pull customers away from the likes of Nike or Adidas? Are these mega-sponsorship deals worth the cost for these companies?

Self image has been research in the context of celebrity endorsement, and established that it is an important factor in marketing (Fortini-Cambell, 1992). Some of the respondents told stories of how they were influenced by celebrity endorsement when they were younger. One person referenced Michael Jordan and his endorsement of the Nike shoes. This reflects self image when considering what to buy and what influenced them. It also reflects a need to be different as well as the same time identify with a group of people. Apparently this can go both ways. If one product gets too popular among a certain group it can actually make others choose another product even though they like it.

The ad I choose to analyze was an ad from Nike called “Unlimited You”. The people that are depicted in the ad are children, amateur athletes, pro athletes and anyone who has a dream that may seem impossible to achieve. Both male and female are represented in this ad. There are very well skilled men and women in this ad that are competing in high competition. There facial expressions in the ad shows their competitive side meaning they have fierce looks. They are dressed in uniform for whatever sport they are playing which include: running, golf, tennis, swimming, soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, basketball, baseball, skateboarding, football and martial arts. In this ad specifically it does not promote one specific product however it promotes the companies brand by advertising on these athletes. The way Nike used their angles to make this video was very creative. It showed realistic and unrealistic events in their ad. For example, it showed Orlando Magic’s superstar Aaron Gordon getting into a car crash and jumping off the car and performing a dunk. It was very unique yet very creative. The lighting used was to make sure it seemed like you were watching the actual sporting event. There were many different surroundings in each of the clips but they always emphasized the athlete. There were a wide range of colors used in this ad depending on what scenery they were at. Each sporting event that they showed had its specific color depending on the crowd, playing surface and sport they