Some Assembly Required"- Comparing Disclaimers in Children's TV Advertising in Turkey and the United...

7/28/2019 Some Assembly Required"- Comparing Disclaimers in Children's TV Advertising in Turkey and the United States

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''Some Assembly Required":Comparing Disclaimers in Children's TVAdvertising in Turkey and the United StatesDisclaimers in advertisements might strongly influence how advertising is producedand presented to the public. Examining how marketers use such disclaimers indifferent countries is an important part of understanding how advertising reaches outto children. To date, studies of disclaimers with respect to children have only focusedon U.S. advertising. This study examines differences in how disclaimers are used inboth Turkish and U.S. children's television commercials.

tliis researcit wa separtment of

College of Busi-

INTRODUCTIONAlthough mandated regulations strongly influ-ence advertising practices in a number of inter-national markets (Duncan and Ramaprasad, 1995;Gao, 2005), the global diversity of legal require-ments presents a significant barrier to create stan-dardiz ed global advertising strategies (Gao, 2005;Papavassiliou and Stathakopoulos, 1997). In somemarkets, however, advertising traditionally hasbeen shaped by the level of economic develop-ment. As those markets mature and economic-development gaps begin to decrease, it is reasonableto expect that differences in advertising regula-tions might also diminish (Gao, 2005).

Advertising regulations in the United States andother countries tend to center on deceptive andunfair advertising (Petty, 1996), comparative ad-vertising (Wilkie and Farris, 1975), sex and de-cency in advertising (Boddewyn, 1991), andadvertising to children (Mazis, 1979). Regulationsin any country may be categorized (ranging fromleast to most restrictive) as removing restraints oninformation flow, enhancing information now, andrestricting information flow (Mazis et al, 1981).

Regulations on the content of advertising oftenfocus on the form of the message and the way- theinformation is presented in advertising appeals tospecific target audiences. T he cognitive abilities ofchildrenand their response to any kind of broad-cast messagemeans that younger audiences de-

mand specific consideration in terms of what kindof restrictions work in their best interests.

Because children have become a significant in-ternational market (Arundhati, 2002) and market-ers have invested heavily to reach this segment,the form and content of youth-oriented advertis-ing messages is particularly important. The lan-guage in children's ad vertising, for instance, shouldtake into account the cognitive abilities of chil-dren. Because young children can be particularlyvulnerable to content in commercials, advertisingto children has received major criticism from anumber of public and private institutions (Kunkel,2001). Because of criticisms that advertising mightcreate misunderstanding among children or actu-ally mislead that target audience, disclosures havebecome an important element of the informationmix for advertising content.

A numb er of studies have examined advertisingdisclosures or disclaimers in children's commer-cials (Kolbe and Muehling, 1992; Stern and Har-mon, 1984; Stutts and Hunnicutt, 1987). Whilethese studies have enhanced the un derstand ing ofmarketing practices in the United States, there hasbeen little comparable research on the subject out-side the United States, with particular lack offocus in developing countries. To enhance theunderstanding of advertising practices in two mar-kets with different levels of advertising maturity,this study examines and compares advertisers'

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ANALYSIS OF DISCLAIMERS IN CHILDREN 'S TV ADVERTISING

In some m arkets , advertising traditionaliy lias been siiapedby tiie ievei of economic deveiopment. As tiiose ma rketsmature and economic-deveiopment gaps begin todecrease, it is reasonable to expect that differences inadvertising regulations might also diminish.

use of disclaimers in Turkey (a develop-ing market on its way to industrializednation status) and the United States (afully industrialized market).

THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY IN TURKEYAND THE UNITED STATESCom pared to the United States, broadcastadvertising in Turkey is still relatively new.In fact, the Turkish Radio and TelevisionCorp oration (TRT) was established in 1968(Creatonic Media Research, 2001). Cur-rently, there are 197 over-the-air TV chan-nels and an additional 63 cable channels.Sixteen channels operate at a national level,15 at a regional level, and 229 at a locallevel. Turkey also offers 30 national radiostations and another 1,062 local opera-tions. Additionally, in 2006, the TurkishAdvertising Association reported 32 news-papers and 85 magazines distributedthroughout the country.

The entire Turkish ad vertising industryhas been growing gradually in the lastdecade; advertising expenditures grewmore than threefold between 1995 ($635million) and 2006 ($2.6 billion). Globaliza-tion and European Union (EU) member-ship requirements helped to generateadvertising standards that are compatiblewith a free-market economy, including thestand ards of the EU and the general Agree-ment for Trade of Service (Turkish Adver-tising Association, 2007). Overall, Turkeyhas implemented the regulations ex-

pected of a free-market economy similar,but that differs from the United States inthat those measures still are not fullymature.

The formation of broadcast media inthe United States, on the other hand,started much earlier. The first experimen-tal television broadcast in the United Statesdates back to the late 1930s (Bellis, 2006),and the emphasis on marketing regula-tion began during the late 1960s, withnew regulations on advertising substanti-ation, comparative advertising, advertis-ing to children, affirmative disclosure, andadvertising code barriers being intro-duced during the 1970s (Wilkie, McNeill,and Mazis, 1984).

By contrast, U.S. advertising spendingtotaled $266 billion across various typesof media in 2006, with television account-ing for $72 billion and the balance sharedby newspapers ($49 billion) magazines($24 billion), radio ($22 billion), and othermedia ($99 billion) (Vollmer and Precourt,2008). In 2006, the United States rankedfirst in global-advertising expenditures, fol-lowed by Western European ($103.57 bil-lion), Asia-Pacific ($91.81 billion), and LatinAmerica ($22.72 billion) (ZenithOptime-dia, 2007).

In addition to spending on media, per-capita advertising sp ending is yet anotherrevealing indicator of a market's matu-rity. In 2007, the p er-capita U.S. advertise-ment spen ding was $528 (Central European

Media Enterprises, 2007); by comparin Turkey, comparable expenditure $34 (ZenithOptimedia 2007). In termadvertising media investments and capita advertisement spending, the Tish market, compared to the United Stis still in its infancy.BACKGROUND ON ADVERTISINGDISCLAIMERSAdvertising disclaimers have beenfined as a "statement or disclosure mwith the purpose of clarifying or quaing potentially misleading or decestatements made within an adverment" (Stern and Harmon, 1984, p. Examples from children's advertisingclude "supplies are limited," "part nutritious breakfast," "in specially maprices," "not sold in stores," and "baies not included."

An advertiser may decide voluntariuse disclaimers or their implementationbe mandated by such regulatory agenas Eederal Trade Comm ission (FTC) inUnited States. The FTC's advertising stantiation program dates back to 1(Foxman, Muehling, and Moore, 1Wilkes and Wilcox, 1974). The main otives of this early initiativeand of sequent p rogr ams since the 1990sweenable consumers to make more infordecisions and to discourage advertisingwou ld lead to false impression ab out aketing communications message.

Although disclaimers are not centradvertising messages, they do provid e complete information about claims min the message. In the United States, mdatory FTC guidelines guard againstfair and deceptive advertising practicesFTC also works with the C hildren's Adtising Review Unit (CARU) of the Couof the Better Business Bureau to imstandards for advertising directed to dren. As a self-regulatory agency, CApromotes responsible advertising. M


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ANALYSIS OF DISCLAIMERS IN CHILDREN'S TV ADVERTISING

FTC re-

in that they relate to the natureproduct, how the product works, and

While Turkey may lag in the size of its

The use of disclaimers is particularly

Stutts and Hunnicutt, 1987). While

Stern and Harmon, 1984), few ex-

(Bennett, 1990; Liebert, Sprafkin,

Another important question is: How ef-

ldren of all ages offered

The cognitive abilities of childrenand their response toany kind of broadcast messagemeans that youngeraudiences demand specific consideration in terms of whatkind of restrictions work in their best interests.

(Stutts and Hunnicutt, 1987). Nonverbalcorrect responses, on the other hand, didnot improve by age. In fact, the nonverbalresponses of four-year-old children to ad-vertising disclaimers were significantlyhigher than the similar responses of fiveyear olds. Earlier research (Stern andResnik, 1978) of children between the agesof three and six also supports the findingsthat children exposed to a disclaimer didnot have a greater understanding of theadvertising message than children whowere not exposed to the disclaimer.

Other research also examined chil-dren's ability to understand the mitigat-ing functions of a disclaimer between theages of 5 and 11 years old. Children whoparticipated in the experiment were reada short story. Actors in the story wereasked by an older sibling to help out inordinary tasks such as washing the dishesor holding a baby. And, in each case, anolder sibling provided some kind of dis-closure in the story. In every instance, theyounger child agreed to provide assis-tance, but did not have the competency tocomplete the specified task. Later, chil-dren were asked whether the actor in thestory should be punished. The findingsindicated that significant reductions in pun-ishment were recommended by childrenthat were 11 years old following specifi-cation of a disclaimer. On the other hand,50 percent of eight-year-old childrenand only 25 percent of the five year oldsreported that they fully understood thedisclaimer (Bennett, 1990). Additionally,

Liebert, Sprafkin, Liebert, and Rubinstein(1977) found that the form of the dis-claimer (the types of words used) made adifference in how well kindergarten andsecond-grade children understood themessage. Children were better able to com-prehend disclaimers that specifically sug-gested child's involvement (i.e., "you haveto put it together") than more passivemessages ("some assembly required") thatdid not speak directly to the child.

Other studies have analyzed the use ofdisclaimers in television commercials. Stemand Harmon (1984) found that disclaim-ers were present in more than one-thirdof breakfast- or toy-related children's com-mercials. The majority of the disclaimersappeared at the end of the commercial asaudio voice-overs; all the spots used adultlanguage in 2- to 3-second time framesEarlier research with toy commercialsfound that verbal qualifiers (20 percent)were used more than visual qualifiers thaappeared on the television screen (14percent) or a combination form of visuaand verbal qualifiers (11 percent) (Atkinand Heald, 1977). Additionally, Barcus(1977) reported visual disclaimers in 11percent of weekend-programming commercials and 10 percent of after-schoolprogramming commercials, with combinedform of audio/visual disclaimers in 8 percent of weekend spots and 5 percent ofafter-school TV advertising.

Overall, children's understanding of theintent of advertising changes significantlyas they move from very young ages to

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TABLE 1General Guidelines Related to Disclosures and Disclaimers in Children's Advertising in theUnited States and TurkeyTurkey 1 . Adve rtiseme nts should not exploit the inexperience or credulity of children and young people.

2. Advertisements should not understate the degree of skill or age level generally required to use or enjoy the proda. Special care should be taken to ensure that advertisements do not mislead children and young people as to

true size, value, nature, durability, and performance of the advertised product.b. If extra items are needed to use it (e.g., batteries) or to produce the result shown or described (e.g., paint),

should be made clear.c. A product that is part of a series should be clearly indicated as should the method of acquiring the series.d. Where results of product use are shown or described, the advertisement should represent what is reason

attainable by the average child or young person in the age range for which the product is intended.3. Price indication should not be such as to lead children and young people to an unreal perception of the true valu

the product, for instance by using the word "only." No advertisements should imply that the advertised producimmediately within reach of every family budget.

4. The following should be noted for the advertisemen ts th at address or have the possibility of affecting children or yothat are minors and for the advertisements in which children or youth that are minors are used:a. They cannot bear components of violence that they may imi tate.b. The advertisements of products or services that may be harmful for themselves or the environment if suffic

measures are not taken should bear symbols and warnings reminding that necessary measures must be takc. Expressions implying that they should execute an agreement for the sales or lease of the produ cts or the serv

may not be included.d. Expressions or visuals encouraging them to misuse their special confidence in their parents, teachers, or o

persons. They may not be in a manner that w eakens the authority and the sense of responsibility or judgmentthe parents and teachers.

e. They may not exploit the feelings of love, compa ssion, and devotion that parents have for their children.United Sta tes" 1 . All disclosures and disclaimers m aterial to children should be understandable to the children in the Inten

audience, taking into account their limited vocabularies and level of language skills. For young audiences, simwords should be chosen, e.g., "You have to put it together." Because children rely more on information presentedpictures than in words, demonstrative disclosures are encouraged.

2. These disclosures should be conspicuous in the adve rtising format and media use d, e.g., online, advertisers shomake disclosures clear and proximate to, and in the same form at (i.e., audio or graphic) as, the claims to which tare related; in television, advertisers should use audio disclosures, unless disclosures in other formats are likebe seen and understood by the intended audience.

3. Circumstances where ma terial disclosures are needed include, but are not limited to, the following:a. Adve rtising for unasse mbled products shou ld clearly indicate they need to be put together to be used propeb. If any item ess ential to use of the product is not included, such as batteries, this fact should be disclosed clec. Advertisers should clearly disclose information about products purchased separately, such as accessories

individual items in a collection.d. If television advertising to children involves the use of a toll-free telephone number, it must be clearly stated

both audio and video disclosures, that the child must get an adult's permission to call. In print or onadvertising, this disclosure must be clearly and prominently displayed.

"Source: The Turkish Advertising Self-Regulatory Board^Source: The Children's Advertising Rcvieit) Unit, Self-Reg ulatory Program for Children's Advertising


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evision Corporation (TRT) was established in 1968 .

another 1,062 local operations. Additionally, in 200 6,

self-

prov iding clear and sufficient infor-This study explores the extent of dis-

U.S. and Turkish

samples (Kolbe and Muehling, 1992;Stern and Resnik, 1978; Stutts and Hunni-cutt, 1987), this study expands the litera-ture by providing perspectives from amarket that is economically, socially, andculturally different from the United States.Extending the examination of disclaimeruse to markets outside the United Statesis important in light of increasing global-ization and inclusion of less maturemarkets.

Specifically, the study sought answersto three specific research questions: To wha t extent are disclaimers used in

U.S. and Turkish children's commercials? What are the typical disclaimer struc-

tural formats (position, form, language,etc.) used in children's commercials?

Are there country differences on theexecution of disclaimers in children'scommercials?

METHODSampleThe data w ere collected by reco rding com-mercials from three television channelsduring the same time periods in Turkeyand the United States. Recordings tookplace on Wednesdays after school hours(3:00-5:30 PM) and on Saturday mornings(8:00 AM-12:00 PM) for five weeks. Thetiming of the recording is typical amongthe studies conducted with children, andSaturday morning programming is con-sidered a heavily targeted and watchedtime period by children (Kolbe and Mueh-ling, 1992). The U.S. networks includedABC, CBS, and NBC. Content analysisstudies targeting children in the UnitedStates commonly used these television net-works (Atkin and Heald, 1977; Kolbe andMuehling, 1992; Stern and Resnik, 1978).The Turkish channels included TRT 1,Channel D, and ATV, which are rankedamong the four most watched televisionchannels in Turkey (AGB Croup, 2001).High television viewership is also re-flected in their leading advertising rev-enue in the Turkish market. Recent figuresindicate that Channel D had 30 percentand ATV had 20 percent of total televi-sion advertising revenue (Colakoglu, 2004).Commercials targeting adults, repeatedcommercials, and comm ercials prom otingtelevision programming were not in-cluded in the final sample of 219 commer-cials. Of these 219 selected commercials,95 were Turkish and 124 were from theUnited States.ProcedureContent analysis was used to explore thecontent of children's commercials. Two bi-lingual judges from each country watchedthe commercials and identified the dis-claimers. The disclosures (also referred toas "disclaimers") were identified as state-men ts used to clarify or qualify potentia llymisleading or d eceptive aspects, including

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Although disclaimers are not central to advertisingmessages, they do provide more complete informationabout claims made in the message. In the United States,mandatory FTC guidelines guard against unfair anddeceptive advertising practices. The FTC also w orks w iththe Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of theCouncil of Better Business Bureau to impose standardsfor ad vertising directed to children. As a self-regulatoryagency, CARU promotes responsible advertising.

statements offering advice and providingsupplemental or qualifying information tothe viewer w ithin the commercial (Stem andHarmon, 1984).

The judges were told that the purpose ofthis study was to evaluate the extent towhich disclaimers are used and to discusstheir executional format in children'scommercials. The judges were providedwritten instructions explaining the defini-tions of the variables. Each judg e then eval-uated the commercials based on theidentified variables, working on his or herown without the presence of the other judge.

During the training, the judges werealso shown examples of commercials thatexplained the concepts analyzed. It wasmade certain that the judges had a clearund erstand ing of the definition of the vari-ables, and any uncertainties were dis-cussed du ring the preanalysis stage. Beforestarting the analysis, the judges assessedpretest commercials that were not in-cluded in the final sample.

After the judges completed their analy-sis, a third bilingual judge resolved dis-

agreements between reviewers. The reli-ability of the judgments was computedusing the Perreault and Leigh (1989)method, and interrater agreements rangedfrom 0.86 to 1 for the Turkish sampleand 0.90 to 0.98 for the U.S. sample. Theaverage interiudge agreement level was0.92 for the Turkish data and 0.94 for theU.S. data.ANALYSISThe first research question (see Table 2)examined the extent to which disclaim-ers were used in the 219 commercialscollected from both countries. Of the 95commercials from Turkey, 15.8 percent in-cluded disclaimers; of the 124 commer-cials from the United States, 33.9 percentincluded disclaimers. Among the variousproduct categories, toys, snack food, bev-erages, clothing, footwear, and children'smagazines included disclaimers in Turk-ish commercials. In the United States,breakfast food, candy and gum, mealfoods, and restaurant commercials in-cluded disclaimers.

The second research question ccerned structural formats for disclaimin children's commercials (see TableThe variables included the position, foand language used in the disclaimers the age and sex of the announcer ofdisclaimer (in audio forms) utilized incommercials. The findings were evated by Chi-square analyses.

Chi-square analysis on the positionthe disclaimer (x^ = 9.765, p < 0.indicated significant differences. Wmost disclaimers were placed at the of the commercials in both coun tries, twere significant differences in freque66.7 percent from Turkey and 92.9 percfrom the United States positioned the claimers at the end. Although 20 percof the Turkish commercials positioneddisclaimers at the beginning of the snone of the commercials in the UnStates used this kind of positioning.

Another variable analyzed was the lof language usedmore specificawhether adult or child's language used to deliver the message. "Adult guage" required an adult's level understanding; "child's language" interpreted as language that yochildren would have no problemunderstand.

There were significant differencesthe execution of this variable between Tkey and the United States {x^ = 25.p < 0.00). The use of adult language observed in 40 percent of the Turkish cmercials, with 60 percent using chlanguage. On the other han d, 97.6 percof the commercials in the United Stwere classified as using adult languonly one commercial in the sample lized child's language.

Interesting patterns were observed wrespect to the form of the disclaimers u(X^ = 14.009, p < 0.003). Audio only included in 26.7 percent of the commcials in Turkey and 45.2 percent of

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Turkey United S ta tes

Frequencyof Disclaimers

Frequencyof Commercialsin This ProductCategory

Frequencyof Disciaimers

Frequencyof Commercialsin This ProductCategory

100010500341

605

1724521

34 5

4

0510000150

291

31622

000029

2 181

Turkey, 23.8 percent and 33.3 percent,The majority of the commercials in both

{x'^ = 6.439, p = < 0.01). A child

commercials and 6.9 percent of U.S.commercials.

For the last variable, the sex of theannouncer of the disclaimer in audio forms,no significant differences were found be-tween the two countries (x^ = 3.460, p

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