Advertising to Children

1MIT 3214 – March 1, 2010

MIT 3214 - March 1, 2010Kyle Asquith, PhD Candidate

Advertising to Children

• Children represent three distinct advertising audiences:1. Direct purchasers.2. Purchase influencers.3. Future branded consumers.

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Early Children’s Advertising – Radio Era

• Clubs, contests, and premiums.• Consumer socialization.• Example: H-O Oats’ Bobby Benson

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Wrigley’s Chief Lone Wolf Tribe Club – 1934.

Television Era

• Post-war economic expansion.• Toy industry grows: Mattel founded in 1945; first

Toys R Us opened in 1957.• Mickey Mouse Club, Howdy Doody, Roy Rogers.

• Mattel Burp Gun• Roy Rogers – Sugar Crisp

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Role of Parents

• Parents as mediators, gatekeepers.

• Appeals to the values of parents, esp. gender roles.

• Children as sales agents – pitching to parents, but without “pestering.”

• Child improvement ethos.

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1980s-1990s Boom

• De-regulation.• Emergence of “program-length commercials.”

For example: He-Man, Care Bears, My Little Pony.

• Product licensing and character marketing.• New media options: Nickelodeon, YTV.• Competition from other media: video games,

Internet.

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Social / Demographic Factors

• 1980s affluence.• Baby boom echo generation.• Women in labour force = guilt money.• Divorce rates = guilt money.• Longer life spans = “six-pocket kids.”

• “Skippies,” “Tweens.”

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Bratz and Promotional Culture

• Integrated, multi-media, multi-platform marketing.

• Corporate synergy.• Promotional culture.• Consumer socialization,

beyond Barbie.

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From Gatekeeper to Anti-adultism

• Parents positioned in a different manner.• Consumer culture a place where “kids rule”—

mischief and rebellion celebrated.• Examples:– Planet Lunch– Chips Ahoy– Post Cereal

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Anti-adultism and Fun Foods

• Pester power, anti-adultism, and distancing “food foods” from “adult foods.”

• Pitting kids against parents.• Product packaging: fun food communicated by

shape, colour, packaging, graphics, etc.• In all areas of supermarket.

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Food and In-School Advertising

• Sponsored educational materials (SEMs).• Exclusive pouring rights.• Incentive programs: for example, Pizza Hut

“BookIt!” or McDonald’s Seminole Country Florida report cards.

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Food Industry Responses

• Method 1: Internal standards/guidelines.

• Cadbury Canada “Marketing Code of Practice,” Campbell Soup “Global Guidelines for Responsible Advertising to Children,” Kellogg “Worldwide Marketing and Communication Guidelines,” etc.

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Industry Responses

• Method 2: Product innovations and healthy choices.

• Discourse of “innovations.”• Product labeling practices: for example, Kraft’s

“Sensible Solutions” or PepsiCo’s “Smart Spot” icons.

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Industry Responses

• Method 3: Corporate philanthropy.

• General Mills “Champions for Healthy Kids Grants” or “Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards.”

• Hershey Track and Field Games.

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Industry Responses

• Method 4: Blame parents as gatekeepers.

• Asserting the role of parents as gatekeepers.• Food advertisers can only “support” parents and

caregivers in this regard.

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Quebec Consumer Protection Act

• Effective April 30, 1980. First such law of the twentieth century.

• Advertising to persons under 13 prohibited.• Whether or not an advertisement targets

someone under 13 is determined by: type of goods advertised, tone/how presented; time and place shown.

• Exceptions: promotions for children’s shows, in-store and display advertising.

• Supreme Court challenge in 1989 by Irwin Toy.

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ASC Children’s Code

• Advertising Standards Canada (ASC).• Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children

developed in early 1970s out of fear of government regulation.

• Advertising Standards Canada, the Canadian advertising industry self-regulatory body, enforces the code.

• CRTC requires that all broadcast advertisements be pre-cleared by the ASC, based on the Children’s Code.

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OWL Magazine

• Founded by non-profit group: Young Naturalist Foundation

• Purchased by Bayard in 1997• Shift from nature, animal and science

magazine to consumer magazine• Comparison 1982, 1992, 2002

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OWL Informational Content

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OWL Instructional Content

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