Commercialism
Most parents are aware that commercials target their children. But it's not only during commercial breaks that kids are exposed to marketing ploys. Commercial messages are also effectively embedded in the stories, images, and games kids love. And it doesn’t stop there: Celebrity endorsements, product placement, Internet pop-ups, and co-branding have also become common practice, pushing brand recognition on the youngest kids. Sports figures endorse everything from credit cards to deodorant while cartoon characters sell unhealthy snack foods — further promoting the rise of childhood obesity.
Advertising bombards kids at all times. With so many vehicles for kids to be "sold to," an "I want" craving is ingrained at a young age. In fact, kids under the age of 12 influence $500 billion in spending per year.
Helping kids understand that advertising is about persuasion can help them start identifying commercial messages. Clarifying "wants" from "needs" will help kids to make decisions independent from a marketed ideal.
For helpful tips on how you can talk to your kids about commercialism, go to Selling to Kids.
See below for more information and research on the impact of advertising and marketing to kids.
FTC Releases Research on Children’s Exposure to Television Advertising
June 1, 2007
Today’s children see more promotional ads for other programming, but fewer paid ads and fewer minutes of advertising on television, according to a report released today by the staff of the...
Study: First Analysis of Online Food Advertising Targeting Children
July 19, 2006
Washington, D.C. – Concerned about the high rates of childhood obesity in the U.S., policymakers in Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and agencies such as the Institute of Medicine have...
U.S. Kids Spent $18 Billion Last Year, While Parents Spent $58 Billion Just to Feed Them
May 26, 2006
New York, May 9, 2006/PRNewswire — Preschoolers aged 3 to 5, younger kids aged 6 to 8, and tweens aged 9 to 11—a compact consumer group that’s nearly 36 million kids...
Alcohol Ads Target Hispanic Youth
October 28, 2005
US Hispanic youth 12-20 tended to hear and see more alcohol advertising per capita during 2003 & 2004 than others in their age group in general, according to a new report from the Center on Alcohol...
The Challenge: JUST SAY NO
September 8, 2004
It's an unanticipated legacy of the affluent '90s: parents who can't, or won't, set limits. Now a growing number of psychologists are warning of the dangers of overindulgence and teaching...
Most Americans Wary of Youth Marketing Industry
May 4, 2004
A new study released today finds that 71% of Americans believe that marketing is harmful to children. The study--by psychologists Susan Linn of Harvard and Tim Kasser of Knox College--found...
This is the Smoking Gun: Pornographers Marketing to Kids
March 1, 2004
While legislatures across the country and Congress look for ways to deal with this issue, parents are watching to see where the leadership will come from.
Teens Who Drink More Affected by Booze Ads
March 1, 2004
Researchers exposed 30 high school students to magazine ads including images of their favorite alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. They then monitored brain responses, which were highest among...
