Company’s market products to children, through television commercials and kid shows .They design them to appeal to children to advertise products vary from toys to snack foods. I personally don’t agree with what companies are doing today advertising too the youth.
In my opinion I believe it is morally wrong marketing directly to children is one of the factors in the obesity epidemic in children. Advisements may also encourage eating disorders, mature sexuality, youth violence and family stress. They do not understand the concept of intent to sell and regularly accept advertising claims at face value. Young people view more than 40,000 ads per year on television alone and gradually are being exposed to advertising on the Internet, in magazines,
He writes that advertisers collect data on children using many means such as conducting surveys, organizing focus groups, creating clubs, and requesting information from young consumers through the internet. He believes that due to the abundance of children watching television, more advertisements are being broadcasted on children’s cable networks. For his final topic, Schlosser identifies the cross-promotions between fast-food companies and other industries. As stated by Schlosser, a considerable amount of the fast-food industry has collaborated with leading manufactures, sports leagues, and Hollywood studios. For an example, he uses the global marketing agreement shared by Disney and Kroc’s corporations, believing that the integration of two large brands is beneficial to the sales and profit of both companies involved.
Eric Schlosser, the author of “Kid Kustomers”, puts a spotlight on the marketing on children. He starts off by talking about the effect on present day marketing. Companies like phone, oil, and automobile are targeting the children the most. He argues that kid-based companies weren’t that bad in the past, but now there are tons of companies who only focus on children. He has provided a lot of studies that support his explanation on marketing strategies.
Eric Schlosser argues that marketing to children is the easiest and most strategic way to meet sales forecasts. In his book Fast Food Nation, Schlosser states that, “eight year olds are considered ideal customers; they have about sixty-five years of purchasing in front of them.” Children are extremely malleable and easily influenced as they are forming their habits, opinions, and tastes. When companies market to kids, it is likely that the child will continue to purchase from that company as they grow up. The fast food industry greatly relies on its familiarity and consistency.
In Eric Schlosser‘s essays, the author shows how the social media are targeting children by their ads and advertisements. He exposes the negative side of advertising especially when children are implicated. The author explores children’s cooperation with these companies whether consciously or unconsciously through their behavior and ways of convincing their parents to get them what they want. He mentions how these same parents by lack of spending enough time with kids pamper them and don’t refuse their desires. Schlosser gives more explanations by introducing several examples of these companies such as Disney, McDonald, clothes, oil, and phone companies, too without openly blaming neither of them.
Modern Americans are still motivated to spend on various products, whether they are useful and necessary or not, as the result of powerful mass advertising campaigns, widely broadcast through many forms of media. Children and young adults are usually the main targets for such campaigns. It is estimated that the average American child watches between 25,000 to 40,000 television commercials per year so advertising undeniably has a great power over the young minds, who in turn would influence their parents and guardians (Shah, 2010). More than 30 billion dollars are spent by families every year as the result of this strategy, which is progressively adapted by many companies (Shah, 2010). Additionally, thanks to these advertisements, people pay more attention to keeping up with the current trend, with what is considered the most up to date rather than the overall necessity of the product.
"Hundreds of retailers display advertisements of the same concept year after year, season after season of young actors that appear to be underage partaking in risky behavior, regardless of the fact that the acts portrayed if committed or recorded of a minor is highly critiqued and illegal in society. Possessing images of minors in compromising positions is prohibited in the U.S" (Steinem 522). However, thousands of companies are depicting this prohibited act with of photogenic, of age actors simply because it sells more products. Millions of outdoor malls are designed to be encourage consumer window-shopping, having customers peer from the outside, and fantasize about purchasing items. Why would a company not actively encourage customer to enter the store and purchase items?
Kids can be taught that what’s on an ad isn’t necessarily what they need.” At the end, marketers must maintain an appropriate structure or strategy without using people in a bad way. If it’s possible for a child being obsessed with a toy and food box, then it’s possible for him to like a sweet fruit box with an interesting book or comics, magazines etc. if we can support or teach them. We must accept that healthy food, exercising, protecting environment, enjoying beautiful sides of life, even choosing the best music or watching the proper advertisement - they are the best solutions for a good future even though they may be hard for some people to adapt.
In Schlosser’s article, “Kid Kustomers” the main argument is that major ad agencies are focusing to much time advertising to children. He uses multiple topics and threads to portray the negative effects of marketing to children. Using the example of Fast Food industries partnering up with toy companies to appeal to the younger consumer and goes into the effects the children have on their parents as a consumer. Using the example of fast food Industries backs up his claim when marketing to children can be bad. Fast food companies are already unhealthy and when they paired up with big toy companies the influence on the child is even greater.
Companies should be banned from advertising to children because they are unable to understand the selling purpose, the long-term effects, and the unfair work labor. According to the American Psychologist Association, children under the age of eight aren’t mature enough and are unable to understand that the purpose of advertising is to get them to buy a product. Young children are likely to believe everything and anything they see and hear because they don’t know any better. There is so much of the world, that children haven’t been exposed to, therefore it could result into wanting to try it all.
Many advertisements target a specific group of consumers whether it be classified through gender, age group, or those that share similar interests. Companies try to create advertisements that leave a lasting impression of a certain product so that it can resonate in a consumer’s mind. Often, companies shape an advertisement based on the type of customers they want to attract. For example, McDonald 's, a fast food chain is likely to target children than adults. By attracting children, there is a likely chance that the children will will insist their parents or grandparents to bring them to the restaurant, which ultimately for the restaurant is about making thrice the profit.
The Ethics of Teenage Advertising It is undeniable that nowadays, we live in a society ruled by consumerism. Businesses are offering more products, and people are increasingly enticed by their advertisements. At the same time, concerns have been raised regarding the effects that advertising - one of those being the effect that ads in the digital environment have on teenagers. Many have argued that some advertising techniques that target that demographic are questionable, and might be even unethical.
In the article “Kid Kustomers” author Eric Schlosser writes about how in today’s society many companies are targeting children to buy their products. These companies target children to buy a wide range of products not just products intended for children, for example, even automobile and oil companies have specific ads that target the youth. These ads are not only meant for consumption in the present, they are also meant for future consumption of their products. Also, throughout this article, the author includes the seven ways kids nag to their parents to get them to buy whatever they want is also included. In our society, if children throw tantrums or don’t stop their continuous begging and nagging they will get what they want.
This statement is so true because when my little brother sees toys or junk food on television he immediately begs my parents to buy either one for him. The majority of commercials during programs aimed at children are for unhealthy high-fat, high sugars or high-salt foods with little nutritional value. Not all parents are aware of how their children are exposed to marketing campaigns that influence their children. Some top food choices for kids attack kids by their appealing commercials. The commercials use bright colors, a funny icon cartoon character, older kids, and catchy phrases.
Advertisers target children by using cartoon characters to promote their product which will make the child want the product. Advertisers also target children by having famous sports stars or actors to promote their products. Advertisers will pay millions just to get kids hooked on their products. Advertisers are exposing children to dangerous amounts of advertisements every day and their finding new ways to get past parents. Advertising towards children has gotten so bad that the government is having to step in and new guidelines are being made to on how advertisers advertise to towards children.
In conclusion, advertisement is propaganda with deleterious effects on our society. Often times we don’t even know we are being affected- this is because advertising is so common. A child may see an ad twice, but they will remember the tones or images and begin to want that toy or product they see. An adult may see an ad that relates to them and a desire for the product, they never wanted to begin with, is