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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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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