A STUDY ON EFFECTS OF ADVERTISEMENTS

ON CHILDREN

SUBMITTED BY:
ANINDITA PRUSTY
Roll No. : 53209V140606
IMBA BATCH 2014 -2019

Under the Guidance of :

Dr. Ansuman Sahoo
Lecturer, IMBA

Department of Business Administration

Utkal University
Bhubaneswar – 751004
 DECLARATION

I, Anindita Prusty, do hereby declare that this dissertation report

named “EFFECT OF ADVERtISEMENTS ON CHILDREN”
submitted for the award of Bachelor’s degree in Business
Management in the Five year Integrated management course at
Department of Business Administration, Utkal University under
the guidance of Dr. Anshuman Sahu is my original work and the
dissertation has not formed the basis for the award of any
degree,associate ship, fellowship or any other.

It is only for academic purpose and it has not been published or

presented anywhere else for the award of such degrees.

Signature:

Date:

Place:
 Acknowledgement

It is a great opportunity for me to write about the subject “EFFECT

OF ADVERTISEMENTS ON CHILDREN”. At the time of
preparing this project I have gone through different websites
which have helped me to acquire knowledge.

I am grateful to my Project Guide Dr. Ansuman Sahoo,( Lecturer,

Dept. of Business Administration, Utkal University) who has
assisted me and guided me in compiling the project.

I feel immensely proud in extending my heartiest thanks to

Prof. (Dr.) Bidhu Bhusan Mishra, (Course Coordinator, Dept. of
Business Administration, Utkal University) for including this
project training in our curriculum which has helped us in improving
our talents and expanding our professional business skill.

Lastly, I want to thanks my family members and friends who have

helped me a lot in completing this project.

ANINDITA PRUSTY
Roll No. : 53209V140606
 ABSTRACT

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an

audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action with
respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the
desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a
commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising
is also common. Advertising is sole of everyone’s’ lifestyle, and
the degree of impact of adverting on children is becoming
devastating day by day. Advertisements showcase the ‘must
haves’ for a kid making them a consumer even before they have
reached the age of 3. On the contrary, advertisement are
educating, updating and motivating the children to learn good
thing as well. Thus the objectives of this research paper are to
explore both the beneficial and harmful effects of media on
children’s food habits, and to identify how the advertising industry
can be regulated by formulating unified laws to prevent the over-
exposure of children to the ad world. It is emphasizing on
directing children’s towards imbibing healthy food habits in them
by suggesting parents to be more aware & regulating the
advertisement targeted on children.
 Contents

CHAPTERS PARTICULARS PAGE

No.
CHAPTER – 1 1.1History Of Advertising 2-3
INTRODUCTION 1.2Changing Scenario Of Advertising 4
1.3Types of Advertising 5-6
1.4Recent Trends In Advertising 7-8
1.5Role Of Advertising 8
CHAPTER – 2 2.1 Children and Advertising 9
ABOUT THE 2.2 Need For Study 9
STUDY 2.3 Methodology and Objectives of the 9
study
2.4 Limitations 10
2.5 Research Design 10
2.6 Scope of the study 11
2.7 Media Literacy 11
2.8 How Children Process 13-14
Advertisements
2.9 Marketing Promos Targeting 15-18
Children
2.10 Effects Of Advertisements On 19-21
Children
2.11 Worldwide Regulation and 22-25
Criticism Of Advertising Children
2.12 Issues in Advertising
26-29

CHAPTER - 3 3.1 Graphs 30-35

CHAPTER - 4 4.1 Findings 36
4.2 Conclusion 36
4.3 Suggestions 37
 CHAPTER -1
INTRODUCTION
The advertising world is getting bigger each day, every minute and every second of the
day, people are finding creative writers or designers to showcase their products in a
very unique way to the final consumers to make a lasting impression on the people. The
markets all over the globe are huge and it sometimes nearly becomes difficult to help
recognize a genuine product, today companies are fighting to create their brand space
in the markets which are so consumed and flooded by extra ordinary products, their
features, their uses and of course the attractive pricing. But manufacturers often fail to
note the effects of advertising on children who are stuck to television almost all the time
when their parents are not around. Advertising does have good effects too, but the most
prominent ones are the negative effects, which can have emotional, psychological effect
on the minds of younger children in the longer run. The competitive business world has
left no space, which we can call decent and humble for younger children. Creating an
effect of advertising on children is one of the best ways of marketing products or
services to children as well as to elders.The world belongs to kids. Marketing to kids
may be the best way to growth. Companies are using this segment to increase profits.
Kids have a firmer grip over the society than that their parents ever had. Not only are
they customers in their qwn right, they also have a major influence over the family’s
purchasing power. This purchasing power we can call it “Kid Influence”. It is the direct or
indirect influence kids have over family household purchases. So advertising has
changed the way kids learn, react and behave to a large extent. On the television, too,
only 18% of the total viewing is of the kids’ channel ,while 80% still continues to be
general viewing. The Indian advertising industry is talking business today. It has
emerged as one of the major industries and tertiary sectors and has broadened its
horizon be it the creative aspect.
Children who watch a lot of advertisements, want more toys seen in and eat more
advertised food than children who do not watch as much advertisements. Children also
urge their parents and friends to be sure to watch certain commercials. Advertisements
and its effect on consumption patterns, values, and social interaction have been hotly
debated for many years. But only recently has the controversy focused on its differential
impact on special interest groups – the elderly, minorities and children. There are many
television advertisements based on children urge their paents to purchase what they
want without needing. Children comprehension of television advertisements and its
persuasive intent increases with the age, because of greater cognitive maturity and
increased experience with the medium. Even a majority 5-8 years old have only a low
awareness of what a commercial really is: and although three quarters 9-12year old
children may demonstrate a medium level of awareness.
“VISIBILITY IS THE MANTRA OF SUCCESS THESE DAYS”
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 1.1 HISTORY OF ADvERTISING
In ancient times the most common form of advertising was by word of mouth. As
education became an apparent need and reading, as well as printing, developed
advertising expanded to include handbills. In the 17th century advertisements
started to appear in weekly newspapers in England. These early print
advertisements were used mainly to promote books and newspapers, which
became increasingly affordable with advances in the printing press; and medicines,
which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe. However, false
advertising and so-called "quack"(fake) advertisements became a problem, which
ushered in the regulation of advertising content.

As the economy was expanding during the 19th century, advertising grew
alongside. In the United States, classified ads became even more popular, filling
pages of newspapers with small print messages promoting all kinds of goods. In
1843, the first advertising agency was established by Volney Palmer in Philadelphia.
At first, agencies were brokers for ad space in newspapers. N.W. Ayer & Son was the
first full-service agency to assume responsibility for advertising content. It was
also the first agency to charge a commission on ads.

In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid
advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and
increase its profitability and the formula was soon copied by all titles.In the early 1920s,
the first radio stations were established by radio manufacturers and retailers who
offered programs in order to sell more radios to consumers. As time passed, many non-
profit organizations followed suit in setting up their own radio stations, and included:
schools, clubs and civic groups.When the practice of sponsoring programs was
popularized, each individual radio program was usually sponsored by a single business
in exchange for a brief mention of the business' name at the beginning and end of the
sponsored shows. However, radio station owners soon realized they could earn more
money by selling sponsorship rights in small time allocations to multiple businesses
throughout their radio station's broadcasts, rather than selling the sponsorship rights to
single businesses per show.
The radio station owners soon realized they could earn more money by
selling sponsorship rights to other businesses. In those days, each show was
usually sponsored by a single business, in exchange for a brief mention of the
sponsor at the beginning and end of the show. This practice was carried over to
television in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
However, a fierce battle was fought between those seeking to commercialize
this new medium and the people who argued that the radio spectrum should be
considered the commons, to be used only non-commercially and for the public
good. In Canada, advocates like Graham Spry were able to convince the government
to adopt a socialist funding model.
2
Marketing through the Internet opened new frontiers for advertisers and
contributed to the "dot-com"(.com) boom of the 1990s. Entire corporations
operated solely on advertising revenue, offering everything from coupons to free
Internet access. At the turn of the 21st century, a number of websites including the
search engine Google, started a change in online advertising by emphasizing
contextually relevant, unobtrusive ads intended to help, rather than inundate, users.
This has led to a plethora of similar efforts and an increasing trend of interactive
advertising.

The share of advertising spending relative to GDP has changed little across
large changes in media. For example, in the U.S. in 1925, the main advertising
media were newspapers, magazines, signs on streetcars, and outdoor posters.
Advertising spending as a share of GDP was about 2.9 percent. By 1998, television
and radio had become major advertising media. Nonetheless, advertising spending
as a share of GDP was slightly lower—about 2.4 percent.

A recent advertising innovation is "guerrilla marketing", which involve

unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of
products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive
advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising
message. Guerrilla advertising is becoming increasing more popular with a lot of
companies. This type of advertising is unpredictable and innovative, which causes
consumers to buy the product or idea. This reflects an increasing trend of
interactive and "embedded" ads, such as via product placement, having consumers
vote through text messages, and various innovations utilizing social network
services such as MySpace.

3
 1.2 Changing scenario of
advertising
Marketing through advertising is considered an important variable in the global
business. Advertising is second only to films as far as its influence on the society is
concerned. History bears testimony to the fact that the great Romans practiced
advertising. Their surnames indicated their occupation. The potentialities of
advertising multiplied when manual press was invented in the 15th century. After
that the demand has been increasing.

Advertising is, in fact, the most influential and powerful medium in the
present commercial society. It creates an entire worldview, shaping our attitude and
beliefs. Advertisements pervade every aspect of our life and most of us are hardly
aware of it. In the movement for equal status and fair treatment to women, an
important part is attributed to the mass media, particularly to electronic media.
The central position of media in daily life ensures its role in advertising
business. The meanings that are created by media are not fixed, but they vary
according to cultural, historical and social context of the people concerned. The
common man judges the products on the basis of the understanding his society
and culture has inculcated into them.

Symbolism is one of the major aspects of advertisement and it is to be noted

that a change has occurred in this context. Use of women to promote a concept or
product is increasing day by day. In the advertisement world, advertisers have
picked up women for advertising of consumer commodities. Women are used in TV
commercials as weapon of persuasion.

4
 1.3 Types Of Advertising
Virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial advertising media
can include a wall paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers
and rack cards, radio, cinema and television adverts, web banners, mobile
telephone screens, shopping carts, web popup, skywriting, bus stop benches,
human billboards, magazines, newspapers, sides of buses, banners attached to or
sides of airplanes ("logojets"), in-flight advertisements on seatback tray tables or
overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, musical
stage shows, subway platforms and trains, doors of bathroom stalls, stickers on
apples in supermarkets, shopping cart handles (grabertising), the opening section
of streaming audio and video, posters, and the backs of event tickets and
supermarket receipts. Any place an "identified" sponsor pays to deliver their
message through a medium is advertising.

1)Television

The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market

advertising format, as is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for
commercial airtime during popular TV events.

2)Radio advertising

Radio advertising is a form of advertising via the medium of radio.

Radio advertisements are broadcasted as radio waves to the air from a
transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device.

3)Press Advertising

Press advertising describes advertising in a printed medium such as a newspaper,

magazine, or trade journal. This encompasses everything from media with a very
broad readership base, such as a major national newspaper or magazine, to more
narrowly targeted media such as local newspapers and trade journals on very
specialized topics.
4) Online advertising
Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide
Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract
5
customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads that appear on
search engine results pages, banner ads, in text ads, Rich Media Ads, Social
network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail
marketing, including e-mail spam.

5) Billboard advertising
Billboards are large structures located in public places which display
advertisements to passing pedestrians and motorists. Most often, they are located
on main roads with a large amount of passing motor and pedestrian traffic;
however, they can be placed in any location with large amounts of viewers, such as on
mass transit vehicles and in stations, in shopping malls or office buildings, and in
stadiums.

6) In-store advertising
In-store advertising is any advertisement placed in a retail store. It includes
placement of a product in visible locations in a store, such as at eye level, at the
ends of aisles and near checkout counters, eye-catching displays promoting a
specific product, and advertisements in such places as shopping carts and in-store
video displays.

7) Covert advertising
Covert advertising, also known as guerrilla advertising, is when a product or brand
is embedded in entertainment and media.

8) Celebrities
This type of advertising focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money,
popularity to gain recognition for their products and promote specific stores or
share their favorite products or wear clothes by specific brands or designers.
Celebrities are often involved in advertising campaigns such as television or print
adverts to advertise specific or general products.
The use of celebrities to endorse a brand can have its downsides, however.
One mistake by a celebrity can be detrimental to the public relations of a brand.

6
 1.4 Recent Trends Of
Advertising

Internet Advertising

Internet Marketing is the online advertisement and selling of products,

services or businesses through the Internet. Online advertising is possible only if
one has its own website. Having a website for a particular business is worthless
until and unless people know about your business and put their trust and likings
on services that you provide. So, having a website is just like having a shop, if
people find you, they obviously visit it, and visit it again if they find it really
interesting.
Internet Advertising is the latest and most effective method of business
promotion. It is necessary to help people find you more easily, know your presence,
know more about the services and products that you offer and assure people what
real difference you can bring about in comparison to other similar service providers.
To make your website worth interesting, different Website advertising strategies
are available today, such as, pay per click advertising, banner advertising, email
marketing, search engine marketing through search engine optimization, affiliate,
article, blog and interactive marketing services. If these strategies are dealt
attentively, then you can experience the difference that online business can bring
on your business.
Unlike print and TV, the consumer can decide when and how he wants to be
exposed to a campaign, and the advertiser too can filter targets in terms of groups
and locales. The Internet has great cost advantage as well. The cost per 1,000
reach is very effective when compared to other media. Finance is the main sector
going for Internet advertising in India. Most in the advertising industry agree that
today even a brilliant campaign has a vital element missing if there is no Internet
presence.

Mobile Advertising
Mobile advertising in India is at a very nascent stage compared to markets like
Japan, Korea and West, but many are reported to be preparing to get into the act.
“The future for mobile advertising is already here, despite not being on many
marketers’ radars yet. Hundreds of millions of ads are already being run,
click-through rates are much higher than online. The growth of 4G networks, IPTV
and high end gaming on mobile phones will open new avenues for advertising on
mobile.
7
Freelance advertising

In freelance advertising, companies hold public competitions to create ads for their
product, the best one of which is chosen for widespread distribution with a prize
given to the winner(s). During the 2007 Super Bowl, Pepsico held such a contest for
the creation of a 30-second television ad for the Doritos brand of chips, offering a
cash prize to the winner. Chevrolet held a similar competition for their Tahoe line
of SUVs. This type of advertising, however, is still in its infancy. It may ultimately
decrease the importance of advertising agencies by creating a niche for
independent freelancers.

Embedded advertising
Embedded advertising or in-film ad placements are happening on a larger scale
now than ever before. Films like Krish had over a dozen placements including
Bournvita, Samsung, Faber Castell and Hero Honda.

1.5 The Role of Advertising:

Advertising is the means by which goods or services are promoted to the public.
The advertiser’s goal is to increase sales of these goods or services by drawing
people’s attention to them and showing them in a favorable light.
The mission of advertiser is to reach prospective customers and influence their
awareness, attitudes and buying behavior. They spend a lot of money to keep
individuals (markets) interested in their products. To succeed, they need to understand
what makes potential customers behave the way they do.

For advertising to exist, a number of factors have to be in place

 The goods and services to be advertised
 Competition between different providers of the same kinds of goods and
services, for which there needs to be a significant potential market
 The means of advertising cheaply to large numbers of people
 A population with sufficient education to be able to understand advertising
Messages
Advertising is a marketing function, and Kotler claims that advertising can
have a number of different, possible objectives.
The main objective here is to build primary demand.Another objective can be to
persuade the customer to purchase the product.The use advertising as a way to build
preference and to encourage customers to change brand.
8
 CHAPTER - 2
2.1 CHILDREN AND ADVERTISING
Advertising to children is the act of marketing or advertising products or services
to children, as defined by national legislation and advertising standards.
Advertising to children is often the subject of debate, relating to the alleged
influence on children’s consumption. Rules on advertising to children have largely
evolved in recent years. In most countries, advertising for children is now framed
by a mix of legislation and advertising self-regulation.

2.2 Need For Study:

Today Indian market is growing rapidly. To be aware of the fact that Indian
confectionary products players heavily spend on advertisement of their confectionary
products.As a result of that industry observed a decline in the share on non – branded
products.Children today are extremely aware of the various brands in the market and
are conscious of the products they use or consume. They pick and choose carefully
according to their needs, style, preference etc.
Children are aware of various brands. This awareness will affect while purchasing of the
product. So study of this topic will understand how the purchasing power of family will
change according to the children.

2.3 METHODOLOGY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study has undertaken with the following objectives:

 To examine the opinion of parents regarding the impact of advertisements on
children’s eating habits.
 To study the reasons behind the purchase grant of children’s demands.

 To know opinion of parents for regulating the TV Ads.

 To analyze the type of TV programs seen by children.
 To make appropriate suggestions to regulate the impact of Advertisements on
children and to create healthy environment to the children in relation to
advertisements.
9
 2.4 LIMITATIONS
The major barriers in conducting the survey are:
1. Time Limitation
2. Financial Limitations
3. Geographical Limitations

1. Time Limitations
For a researcher time has always worked as a barrier to his/her research
Process.

2. Financial Limitations
Another major limitation for this study is financial limitation. Finance is the major
limitation for any study. Again for this study finance does matter to the researcher
to some extent.

2.5 Research Design

With the help of advertisements, companies are attracting the so called new segment in
the market. i.e. children segment. This deals with various studies about the nature of the
children, their likes and dislikes, parent’s role in the decision making & the influence of
advertising on the buying habits seen by the kids. The data collection was done using
on the spot sampling in the form of personal interview. The researcher used various
secondary sources for gathering data related to the research report.
.
Secondary Data

The secondary data is collected from books, journals, dailies, thesis and prevision
research reports on the related issues. Apart from the secondary data is also collected
from internet for getting the data about the various statutory rules and regulations on
advertising. The data is also collected from the websites of food chains like McDonalds,
Pizza hut, Dominos…etc.

10
 2.6 Scope of The Study
Advertising to children can take place on traditional media – television, radio and
Print – as well as new media (internet and other electronic media). Packaging,
In-store advertising, event sponsorship and promotions can also be means to
Advertise to children.
This project highlights the “EFFECT OF ADVERTISEMENTS ON CHILDREN”. It will
analyse the changing preference of consumers ( Parents and Children ) for
confectionary products.The study would help to understand the effect of advertisement
on purchasing power of consumers.

2.7 Media Literacy

 Media literacy is a relatively new discipline, aimed at teaching individuals and
children in particular to understand and use the media to their advantage.

 Media Media literacy is increasingly recognized by governments and international

organizations.
 Media Smart is an established media literacy education programme focused
on advertising. Launched in November 2002, Media Smart is a non-profit media
literacy programme for school children aged 6 to 11 years old.
 Media Smart develops and provides, free of charge and on request, educational
materials to primary schools that teach children to think critically about
advertising in the context of their daily lives.
 Since 2002, Media smart has been launched in Belgium, Germany, the
Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Portugal and Hungary.

11
 Children and TV Advertising
In the 1940s and 1950s children were not considered consumers in their own right
but only extensions to their parents purchasing power. With the advent of
television and other mass media, children have come into their own right as
consumers and, consequently, they have become an important target market for
the business. Advertisers are the first to recognize children’s value as consumers
who are capable of making decisions about spending.

The 1950s dates the modern era of children's television programming, when
a deal between struggling television network ABC and Disney brought The Mickey
Mouse Club and Disneyland into children's afternoon television programming.
Advertising at that time appealed generally to the personal gain of the consumer in
the case they decided to purchase the sponsored product. Over the next 15 to 20
years, children's television became an industry by itself.

Throughout this history of children's television advertising, researchers have

criticized in different ways the use of television commercials directed to children
(Tseng, 2004). In the late 1970s, a research team funded by National Science
Foundation (NSF) estimated that children viewed an average of about 20,000.-
commercials per year (Adler in Singer, 2001). There was so little study on this topic
during the 1950s, the majority of the studies on children's television advertising
environment goes from the 1970s onward (Alexander et al. 1998).

Four types of products advertised to children during the 1970s were limited:
toys, cereals, candies and snacks, and fast foods. Male voiceovers accounted for
the great majority of ads coded, and animated characters seldom appeared (Barcus
in Tseng, Eliana Shiao; 2004). While marketers and advertisers heightened their
interest in the child market during the 1980s, research on children's television
advertising of that period consisted mainly on replications and extensions of
previous studies (Tseng, 2004).

Children’s television advertising is rapidly becoming a major concern to

government agencies, citizens. groups and researchers in many areas of the social
sciences ( Resnik, Stern and Alberty; 1979).Children who watch a lot of television,
want more toys seen in advertisements and eat more advertised food than children
who do not watch as much television (Strasburger, 2002). Children also urge their
parents and friends to be sure to watch certain commercials (Fox in Jarlbo, 2000).

12
 2.8 How Children Process
Advertisements
To be effective, marketing campaigns must get children to attend to the message,
desire a specific product, recognize and remember that product, and purchase it.
How well children understand the persuasive intent of advertisements also affects
the success of commercials.

Attention

Commercials that are designed to attract and hold children’s attention are
characterized by lively action, sound effects, and loud music. The animated
character Tony the Tiger, for example, bursts onto the screen, proclaiming that
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes are “GRRRRRREAT!!” One study found that preschoolers
paid more attention to commercials full of action, sound effects, and loud music
than to more low-key commercials. Audio features are particularly important in
gaining children’s attention. Another study found that children aged three to eight
were more attentive to commercials that were higher in audio than in video
complexity. Audio features have more recruiting power than visual features
because interesting sounds can get children who are not looking at the television
screen to direct their visual attention to it. These findings are consistent with
Piaget’s insight that young children are especially focused on the attention-getting
perceptual qualities of presentations. Children’s patterns of attention help reveal
how well they can make distinctions between the commercial and the television
program.
In one study, researchers trained mothers to examine their children’s visual
attention to Saturday morning cartoons and advertisements. The mothers reported
that the younger children (five to eight) continued to pay attention when a
commercial came on but that children older than eight looked away. The older
children’s awareness of the break in the content suggests that they are less
susceptible than the younger children to the effects of advertising.

Recognition and retention

Advertisers use visual and auditory production techniques and repetition to
enhance children’s memory of the content. One study found that preschool,
kindergarten, and second-grade children remembered food products that had been
advertised audio visually or visually better than they remembered products
presented in an audio version only.
13
Song lyrics and rhymes can replay in children’s heads, leading to automatic rehearsal
and memory
of content. When children are shown the same commercial repeatedly, they are
more likely to remember the product advertised. Repetition also undermines
children’s, even older children’s, defenses against product messages.

Comprehension of commercial intent.

As noted, children younger than age eight do not understand that the intent of
commercials is to persuade them to buy one product over another; instead they see
commercials as a means of informing them about the vast number of attractive
products that they can buy. In a key study demonstrating the developmental
advance during middle childhood, Thomas Robertson and John Rossiter questioned
first-, third-, and fifth-grade boys about their understanding of commercials. Only
half of the first-grade boys understood the persuasive intent of commercials, as
against 87 percent of third graders and 99 percent of fifth graders.

Product requests and purchases.

What aspects of exposure to commercial messages lead to product requests?
Researchers have found that repetition, in particular, increases children’s requests
for, and purchases of, specific food, beverage, and toy products. One study, for
example, measured three- to eleven-year-old children’s overall exposure to
advertisements at home and to specific advertisements in their laboratory. They
then had children visit a mock grocery store with a parent.Children who were exposed to
more overall advertisements at home and who were most attentive to
advertisements in the laboratory setting made the most requests for the advertised
products. Premiums—bonus toys and treats that accompany the product—also
increase children’s product requests. For instance, Charles Aitkin found that 81
percent of mothers thought that premiums influenced their children’s cereal
selections. The more children watched Saturday morning television programs,
which are saturated with cereal commercials, the more children wanted the cereals
that contained premiums. Free downloads such as screen savers serve similar
functions in newer technologies, but researchers have not yet fully examined the
effects of such practices.

14
 2.9 Marketing Promos
Targeting Children
Children play an important role in the household decision making process by
attempting to influence their parents acquisition, usage and disposition behavior.
The most common is that children nag until their parents finally give in. Research
finds that success of such attempts on the type of offering, characteristics of the
parents, age of the child and stage of the process.Children are more likely to influence
the parents for the purchase of child related products as cereals, cookies, snacks, car
vacation and new computer technologies. For clothing and toys, children often use that
argument that “Everyone else has one” and because parents want to avoid being
identified as ‘scrim piers’ they will often given in.Interestingly, children consistently
overestimate how much influence they have in most of the decisions.
Working and single parents on the other hand are more likely to give in
because thay face more time pressures. Another important finding is that the older
the child the more influence he/she will exert on the parents.

Targeting Children

Marketers are increasingly targeting the young children because of the influence
that these kids have on their parents; buying decision. Advertisers are influencing
the kids through various educational programs, games and certain other
promotional events. The promos aim at increasing the brand visibility and
developing an emotional connect with the kids.
In India, kids have a considerable amount of demographic representation
which marketers want to capitalize on. Marketers are targeting the kids because
kids influence buying decisions, they exert pressure on the parents for a certain
product purchase and they are the future adult consumers.
In the earlier days, marketers aimed at influencing the parents for purchase
related to kid’s products. Of late, marketers are trying to influence the kids directly
through various promos and contests that provide them with lots of fun and
adventure. By doing so, marketers are aiming to occupy the young minds
successfully.
Generally, the contests are specially designed to target a particular age group
of kids. The response from the kids is usually high because of the emotional
tie-ups which is generated by the promos. This is the major success factor for the
marketers. The common thing in all these promos is that they provide fun and
adventure to the kids.
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A Bag of Contests from Marketers
Rasna – Slogan Contest

Rasna conducted a slogan contest for the kids between the age group of 4-10
years. The contest was very simple. The kids has to complete a slogan “I love rasna
juc up because …….” and send the same along with 10 single served sachets of
Rasna. A panel of judges was identified to decide the winners of the contest. Ten
lucky winners could enjoy a ride on a flight with Karisma Kapoor who was the brand
ambassador of Rasna. The participants who could not make it to the finals were
also entitled to win 1000 early bird prizes.

Britania – “Jetix Power Your rangers Contest”

This was one of the biggest kids contest conducted in India. The kids were given a
call by the rangers to save them from trouble by powering them through dinogems
which was hid by the villains. The dinogems were hidden in the fort of evil and the
map was destroyed. The kids through this contest had to put together and
indentify the dinogems which ultimately powered the rangers.
The entries could be through SMS, phone calls or by e-mails. Five lucky winners
made a trip to New Zealand with their families. Fifty five other winners were given
playStation and power ranger game. Besides, 10,000 quick gun prizes and “Power
your ranger bravery medals” were also given.

Maggi Quiz contest

This contest was held for students of IV, V and VI classes and included questions
on general knowledge and individual subjects. The first round was an intra school
written quiz competition. The second round was an oral quiz round and for the
winners of the first round. The final contest was conducted between six teams
comprising of two students each. During these quiz round, audience questions
were also asked. The winning team was given Maggie gift packets and the members
of the audiences who participated in the quiz were given sample packs of Maggi.
16
Kellogg Mobile Contest

Kellogs India in association with mobile2win presented a contest for kids in the age
group 4-11. The theme of this contest was about rescuing chocos from crafty croc.
Crafty croc. Was the villain who was threatening the brand mascot Choco
bear about stealing chocos from him. All kids who wanted to participate in the
contest had to buy a pack of chocos and solve the cues provided on the pack in the
form of crossword puzzles. Once the puzzle was solved, a name would be revealed
which had to be sent to the company. The company then decides the winner on the
basis of lots.

Boomer Bubble Blowing Championship

This championship was conducted in different cities. Wrigly, the bubblegum

making company, conducted this contest in which the winners of the contest were
given a chance to be with the boomer man in the boomer television commercial.
The entire process was very simple. The kid who could blow the biggest
bubble was the winner. The contest was open to kids within the age group of 8-12
years. The contest was held in two cites and two winners were selected from each
city and the final winner was selected form that. The contest was held in schools,
malls, residential complexes and market locations. Massive media support was
given to this contest.

Apsara Excellence Awards Arts Contest

An arts contest was conducted by Hindustan Pencils Limited. The contest targeted
four divisions of students depending on the class in which they were studying.
These divisions included students of kindergarten and nursery, those studying in I
to IV, V to VII and from VIII to X classes.
All the required material like pencils, sharpeners, erasers, pastle colors,
water colors was provided by Hinduatan Pencils to the contestants. The results
were declared on the spot by evaluating the entries. The evolution was done by a
panel of judges comprising of eminent artists. All students got a certificate of
participation and the winners were given special prizes. The best entry was
awarded with the Apsara Excellence Award Rotating Trophy.
 17

Marketers Expectation
The marketers conducting such contests usually aim for brand recall which would
get converted into sales after the contests.
“Kids are generally open to experimentation and if you can weave them into
your game plan, they can be excellent ‘Carriers’ of new innovations and quality
products in to homes’, says Vijay Subramaniam, General Manager (Laundry and
Homecare), Henkel India.The marketers provide excitement to the kids through fun and
adventure programs and ultimately aim to increase the sales considerably.
By organizing such contests, the marketers prompt the kids to buy and use
their products once. Also these contests generate a demand for the products. By
aiming at brand recall the marketers aim at increasing their market share considerably.
Another important aspect that the marketers consider is the ‘pester power’ of
the children which pressurizes the parents to make many buying decisions.
Contests also introduces a ‘me too’ attitude in kids. When a kid participates in a
contest it influences the other children to participate. The marketers thereby try to
make the maximum from these contests.

Conclusion
Marketing through contests and influencing kids is not a favorable option many of
the times. Even though they generate a lot of fun and excitement, launching very
aggressive marketing campaigns could create some ill effects on the children and
thereby gain the wrath of the parents. Hence, the parents and elders in the families
must ensure that the kids do not fall prey to these kinds of promos. Apart from this,
the government should take some initiatives and put some restrictions on such ads.

18
2.10 Effects of Advertisements
on Children
Advertisements are meant to influence the minds of the target group that should
ultimately result in a sale for the client. However, sometimes, it can raise many
questions when targeted for children. Read on to know about the various effects of
advertising on children.

Does advertising have a strong hold over the way we think or act? Does the
mass media dictate our needs and wants? Well, there are plenty of theories about
the effects of advertising. Various creative heads that belong to different
advertising agencies are often churning out new ideas to deliver their message to
the public. Children form the major chunks of the target group for advertisers.
Many advertisements aimed towards children are a sole proof of this fact. The
prime motive of any advertisement is to convince the viewer about the quality of
the product and instill that urge in him/her to purchase the same. Today,
advertising plays an important role in the society, as it tends to influence young
minds in particular.

The first prime motive of advertising is to attract attention. With children, the
messages need to be conveyed in a different manner. Goods are particularly
packaged in order to appeal to the younger generation. Children today, are more
specific about their needs and wants. Children are therefore reckoned to be a major
‘buying force’ by advertisers.

However, advertising can also have a negative influence over young minds if
parents are not really careful and do not teach their children about the importance
of money. In many cases, children tend to misinterpret the messages conveyed
through the advertisement. They end up having wrong notions about many issues.
Advertising influences the minds of children, which creates a need to own that
particular product being advertised. Glossy images on the magazines or billboards
or flashy advertisements on television only create the urge for impulsive buying.
Parents who cannot deal with the rising demands or temper tantrums only tend to
give in to the demands of their children. Children then get used to a certain kind of
lifestyle, which is shown on the television or through various media. This only
creates a very wrong impression on their young minds making them lose the ability
to live a life without relying on materialistic joys. The power of advertising thus,
cannot be ignored.

19
For example, a child may prefer only a specific pair of branded jeans as compared
to other clothing available in stores. He/she may want to live the life that is
projected in the advertisements. The child may dictate to his/her parents about
personal preferences in clothing, food, toys etc.

Well, with these kinds of effects of advertising, one wonders who is to be blamed in
this whole issue. Parents play a major role in this case. They need to monitor what
influences the minds of children. Parents also need to be firm with children
whenever their demands increase. Children need to be told gently that a ‘no’
cannot be converted into a ‘yes’ with tears or brawls! Parents also need to instill
good habits and help children to differentiate between right and wrong. And the
sooner it’s told, the better it would be for the child and subsequently parents as
well. Advertisers on the other hand, can also try to put their message across
creatively and target the entire family rather than just children. This will ensure
even parents stay within the loop and can monitor the demands of the children.

Positive Effects of Advertisements on

Children

Advertising makes the kids aware of the new products available in the market.
It increases their knowledge about the latest innovations, in the field of
technology as well as otherwise.
Convincing ads, which center around healthy food products, can help
improve the diet of a child, if they are attractive enough.

20
Negative Effects of Advertisements on
Children

Advertisements encourage the children to persuade their parents to purchase

the products shown in the commercials, whether useful or not. The little ones
tend to get adamant, if they are not bought the product.
Children often tend to misinterpret the messages conveyed in commercials.
They overlook the positive side and concentrate more on the negatives.
Many advertisements in the present times include dangerous stunts, which
can be performed only by experts. Even though the commercials broadcast
the statutory warnings with the ad, the kids often try to imitate the stunts at
home, with fatal results.
The flashy advertisements broadcast in television generate impulse shopping
in children.

Children, after watching the glitter of commercials, often lose the ability to
live a life without materialistic joy.
The kids usually get more attracted towards the costly branded products,
such as jeans and accessories. They disregard the inexpensive, but useful, ones that
are not shown in the commercials.

Advertisements have an indirect effect on the behavior of children. They

might develop temper tantrums, when deprived of the latest toys and clothes
that are shown in the commercials.
The personal preferences in clothing, toys, food and luxurious of children are
altered by the advertisements, to a great extent.
Junk foods, such as pizzas, burgers and soft drinks, are heavily promoted
during children's TV viewing time. This develops a craving for fatty, sugary
and fast foods in kids, thereby affecting their health adversely.

21
 2.11 Worldwide Regulation and
criticism
of Advertising to Children

In the United Kingdom, Greece, Denmark, and Belgium advertising to children is

restricted and in Quebec, Sweden and Norway advertising to children under the age
of 12 is illegal.
The European Union also has framework legislation in place, which sets down
minimum provisions on advertising to children for its 27 member States. The EU
Audiovisual Media Services Directive, due to replace the Television Without
Frontiers Directive in all member states by the end of 2009, sets out several
EU-wide rules on advertising and children:
 Advertising shall not cause moral or physical detriment to minors, and shall
therefore comply with the following criteria for their protection:
 It shall not directly exhort minors to buy a product or a service by exploiting
their inexperience or credulity;
 It shall not directly encourage minors to persuade their parents or others to
purchase the goods or services being advertised;
 It shall not exploit the special trust minors place in parents, teachers or other
persons;
 Children’s programmes may only be interrupted if the scheduled duration is
longer than 30 minutes
 Product placement is not allowed in children’s programmes.

The Member States and the Commission should encourage audiovisual media
service providers to develop codes of conduct regarding the advertising of
certain foods in children’s programmes.

In the United States the Federal Trade Commission studied the issue of
advertising to children in the 1970s and they restricted advertising to children. One of
the main areas of regulation facing fast food companies is the advertising of
"junk food" to children. In the United Kingdom, the Children's Food Bill is intended
to highly regulate the advertising of such food aimed at children, and many other
countries are looking to introduce strict limitations on fast food advertising. Talks
between the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the fast food companies were
initiated to work together in an effort to improve children's diets, though Burger
King withdrew from the discussions.
Some organisations have called for the watershed to apply to various
unhealthy foodstuffs, including fast food.
22
They also calledfor the disassociation of television and film characters from fast food
and stopping
celebrities from appearing in such advertisements. The impact of such campaigns
is often denied by the fast food companies and the television networks that carry
their advertisements. Some networks have also said that tighter regulations would
reduce advertising income and that would have a negative impact on the quality of
children's programming. In Sweden all advertising aimed at the under-12s is
banned, including fast food adverts.

Faced with stricter television, radio and print regulation, many fast food
companies have started making use of Internet advertising to reach their customers.
The accuracy of the images of food used by the fast food companies is
regularly called into question. The actual product is often described as being of
poorer quality to that represented in the image.
On 3 June 2004 KFC withdrew American television commercials claiming that
"fried chicken can, in fact, be part of a healthy diet" after reaching a settlement with
the Federal Trade Commission.

Fast food advertising is often complained about to advertising authorities,

with members of the public most usually claiming that the wording is misleading. Not all
the complaints are upheld. For example, between 11 September 2002 and
24 March 2004 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK investigated
complaints about six McDonald's advertisements, with two of them being upheld.
The ASA used one of the upheld complaints as a case study.

In 2006 the European Union passed a new law regarding the labeling of
foods - any food with a nutritional claim (such as "low fat") must also highlight that
it is high in something else (such as "high salt") if that is the case. While fast food is
often not given a traditional label, this may have an impact on advertising.
In November 2006, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) announced that it
would ban television adverts for junk food before, during and after television
programming aimed at under-16s in the United Kingdom. These regulations were
originally outlined in a proposal earlier in the year. This move has been criticized
on both ends of the scale; while the Food and Drink Federation labeled the ban
"over the top", others have said the restrictions do not go far enough (particularly
due to the fact that soap operas would be exempt from the ban). On 1 April 2007,
junk food advertisements were banned from programmes aimed at four to
nine-year-olds. Such adverts broadcast during programmes "aimed at, or which
would appeal to," ten to fifteen-year-olds will continue to be phased out over the
coming months, with a full ban coming into effect on 1 January 2009.

23
 Regulation of Marketing
Practice
Because of age-based limits in children’s ability to understand advertiser intent,
the Federal Communications Commission has placed safeguards into the television
advertising marketplace to protect young child audiences. Among the guidelines is
the separation principle, which consists of three components. First, the transitions
between an advertisement and the program content must be distinct; the program
must use a constant production convention, such as “After these messages, we’ll
be right back,” to separate program and commercial content. Second, “host selling”
is not allowed. That is, the main characters on a television program cannot sell
products during that program or during blocks of commercial time adjacent to it.
And, third, products being sold cannot be integrated into program content (a
practice that resembles the common practice of product placements). In addition,
the FCC has limited the time allocated to commercial content during a given hour
of children’s programs. It also requires “tombstone shots” that show the unadorned
product in a still frame shot without all the extra toys that can be purchased with it.
While the FCC is charged with regulating media, the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) is charged with regulating advertising. The Children’s Advertising Review Unit
(CARU), a voluntary regulatory organization created by the advertising industry,
enforces broadcast standards for the industry, in part to prevent governmental
interference. Although CARU has made some attempt to regulate the newer
interactive technology marketing practices, many of its rules have not carried over to the
Internet, video games, or cell phones. For example, websites attempt to
create “sticky sites” where users spend long periods of time with branded
characters. Such sites feature Tony the Tiger from Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes or
Chester the Cheetah for Frito-Lay and create content focused solely on
commercially branded products. Early studies of online marketing practices
documented the use of deceptive practices that invaded the privacy of children. For
instance, popular media characters, such as Batman, would ask children for
personally identifying information for a census that was being taken in Gotham City.
Did children even understand that Batman was not real? No research has been
conducted to answer that question, yet the developmental literature from the
television area suggests that young children may not understand that such
characters are not really interacting with them.
Such practices led Congress to pass the Children’s Online Privacy Protection
Act (COPPA) of 1998, which placed rules on online marketing techniques to protect
the privacy of children under age thirteen.

24
After COPPA was implemented, several agencies, including the FTC, the
Center for Media Education, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center, conducted an
evaluation of website practices. All these studies found that the majority of
websites linked their home page to their privacy policy. But the studies found fewer
efforts to obtain parental consent or to inform parents about how the data
collected on the site would be used. Although researchers now have a reasonably
good idea of what takes place on online websites, they still know little about how
children perceive, understand, or participate when asked for personally identifying
information. No database as yet documents such information on the part of child
consumers of different ages. Spyware in which an outside agent installs a program on a
user’s hard drive, collects information about that user’s behaviors without his
knowledge, and then sends that information back to a marketer also poses risks
that may one day cause spyware to be subjected to regulation by the FTC. Spyware
invades privacy, poses security risks, including identity theft, and can cause
computers to crash, be subject to barrages of pop-up ads, and run slowly.
Regulators should also address the issue of whether and how to make the
regulation of newer online marketing activities consistent with traditional television
and film guidelines. Such existing television standards as clear separation of
commercial from program content, rules about host selling, consideration of age
based skills in understanding marketer intent, tombstone shots of the unadorned
product when the camera shot is still, and limits on the amount of time children
can spend seeing marketed content should be considered in the context of newer
media. Product placement, the emerging and perhaps preferred replacement of the
fifteen- or thirty-second commercial, is also in need of additional study and
regulation. With convergence increasingly bringing the varying forms of
technologies together under one umbrella, it is sensible to have uniform standards
for marketing to children across varying media platforms. Ultimately, though, all of
these practices have some protection because of the First Amendment guarantee of
freedom of speech. Although advertisers do not enjoy the same freedom as
everyday citizens in their right to speak as they wish, they have considerable leeway
to present the content that they wish, and it is up to advocacy groups to
demonstrate that any regulation is necessary. Indeed, the Central Hudson Test, the
primary legal argument for limiting commercial speech, has been interpreted in
recent years as calling for the least amount of interference in the advertisers’ right
to speak as they wish. Moreover, in many cases the online environment is not even
constrained by U.S. law. Setting up an online shop in a different country, for
example, can insulate users from prosecution for violating a number of laws that
they would have to follow within the United States.

25
 2.12 issues in advertising

Political and Legal Issues in

Advertising:
The political and legal environment in a country is one of the most important
factors that influence the advertising and promotional programmes. Regulations
differ owing to economic and national sovereignty considerations, nationalistic and
cultural factors, and the goal of protecting consumers not only from false or
misleading advertising but, in some cases, from advertising in general. It is difficult
to generalize about advertising regulations and restrictions can affect various
aspects of a company’s advertising program, including:
 The type of products that may be advertised.
 The content or creative approach that may be used.
 The media that all advertisers are permitted to employ.
 The amount of advertising a single advertiser may use in total or in a specific
medium.
 The use of foreign languages in ads.
 The use of advertising material prepared outside the country.
 The use of local versus international advertising agencies.
 The specific taxes that may be levied against advertising.

A number of countries ban or restrict the advertising of various products.

Cigarette advertising is banned in some or all media in numerous countries. The
Australian government restricts tobacco advertising to point of purchase. The ban
also excludes tobacco companies from sponsoring sporting events. In Malaysia, a
government ban on cigarette related advertising and sponsorship was initiated in
2003 in an effort to curb the rising member of smokers in the country.

Recently the tobacco industry has been reducing its advertising efforts in
markets around the world, including Asia and Europe, where they have enjoyed much
more regulatory freedom. In Europe there has been a longstanding ban on advertising for
prescription drug products, which is designed to keep government subsidized health
care cost under control. Many governments have rules and regulations that affect the
advertising message

. 26
Most countries permit the use of foreign languages in print ads and direct mail.
However, some do not allow foreign language commercials on TV or radio or in cinema
ads, and some restrict foreign language ads to media targeted to foreigners in the
country. Marketers, ad agencies, media and trade associations in several European
countries including UK and France have begun pushing for self regulation that would
include efforts to help children understand and interpret advertising effectively rather
than banning efforts to reach them.

Socio cultural and Economic Issues in

Advertising:

There have been increasing efforts to protect the public interest by

regulating the content and the influence of advertising. Some examples are: the
ban on television tobacco advertising imposed in many countries, and the total ban
of advertising to children under twelve imposed by the Swedish government in
1991. Though that regulation continues in effect for broadcasts originating within
the country, it has been weakened by the European Court of Justice, which had
found that Sweden was obliged to accept foreign programming, including those
from neighboring countries or via satellite.

In Europe and elsewhere, there is a vigorous debate on whether (or how

much) advertising to children should be regulated. This debate was exacerbated by
a report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation in February 2004 which
suggested that food advertising targeting children was an important factor in the
epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States of America.
In many countries - namely New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and many
European countries - the advertising industry operates a system of self-regulation.
Advertisers, advertising agencies and the media agree on a code of advertising
standards that they attempt to uphold. The general aim of such codes is to ensure
that any advertising is 'legal, decent, honest and truthful'. Some self-regulatory
organizations are funded by the industry, but remain independent, with upholding the
standards or codes (like the Advertising Standards Authority in the
UK).
Naturally, many advertisers view governmental regulation or even
self-regulation as intrusion of their freedom of speech or a necessary evil.
Therefore, they employ a wide-variety of linguistic devices to bypass regulatory
laws (e.g. printing French words in bold and English translations in fine print to
deal with the Article 12 of the 1994 Toubon Law limiting the use of English in
French advertising); see Bhatia and Ritchie 2006:542. The advertisement of
controversial products such as cigarettes and condoms is subject to government
regulation in many countries. For instance, the tobacco industry is required by law
in most countries to display warnings cautioning consumers about the health
27
hazards of their products. Linguistic variation is often used by advertisers as a
creative device to reduce the impact of such requirements.

Take a look at government advertising, and government has for many years
been one of the very biggest advertisers in the United Kingdom. Ah, yes, say the
critics – and have you noticed how fond critics are of saying Ah, yes...? Ah, yes, but
that isn’t advertising... What nonsense. Of course, social advertising, public service
advertising – whether it’s for drinking and driving, social benefits, AIDS or public
information of any kind – is advertising and often state of the art advertising at that.
It takes the proven techniques, techniques of simplification, dramatization and,
most important, personalization and applies them to the way we live now. The
communication skills honed on the humble packet of frozen peas or brand of
petrol have made invaluable contributions not merely to the small reassurances of
daily domestic life but to helping modify social attitudes and behavior.
Advertising today is many things. It’s come a long way from the gaudy poster
proclaiming the presence of Sunlight Soap. It’s part of the social fabric of all our
lives which, cosmetically, would be a good bit duller without it. More to the point,
it’s a thread on which are strung several of the key economic elements that affect the
workings of the business community and the comfort of the individual.
The social relevance of advertising is much debated, which given its relatively
high profile is not surprising. Possibly the most massive contribution which
advertising makes to society is to make more products affordable to more people,
by making volume sales possible for manufacturers and information available to
consumers. Beside that contribution, the occasional complaint that advertising
creates discontent by showing products which some cannot afford pales into
insignificance. We will cover in this section, the role of advertising in social change,
its use of language, advertising and the vulnerable, and origins of needs and wants.
We will look at persuasion in advertising, the sector’s commitment to truth and
decency, issues surrounding reinforcing stereotypes and advertising to children. We
will consider corporate social performance and finally stakeholder engagement.
Let us go through some facts that provide the clear picture of the impact of
advertising:

Cigarettes cause about 6.35 lakh deaths in India every year.

About 33 per cent of cancer cases are attributed to tobacco consumption.
Cigarettes alone account for roughly 10% of excise collections.
Tobacco trade is a major contributor to the national exchequer.
There is clear conflict between health and economic interests of the country.

Advertising has a similar place in the economy as other service sectors such as
management consultants, banks, insurance companies and financial brokers.
Advertising is an important aspect for corporations in their development and
prosperity. Increasingly advertising is also used by public authorities and
nongovernmental organisations. Advertising and other forms of commercial
communication are fundamental to the success and effectiveness of numerous
28
companies and organisations. Consumers and commercial buyers are demanding more
and more information about products and services in order to make their
purchasing choice. ‘Competition thrives on advertising, and advertising thrives on
competition’.
Indicative of the growing importance of the advertising sector world wide is the
1998 UNDP Human Development Report, which claims that advertising has global
expenditures (including in developing countries) increasing faster than the world
economy, suggesting that the sector is becoming one of the major players in the
development process. The reality, as we will see, is that in the last ten years,
advertising has grown by only 24% in real terms.
There is great concern about children as viewers of advertisements
primarily because young children are exposed to thousands of commercials each
year in India. Marketers use television as a medium of communication since it
affords access to children at much earlier ages than print media can accomplish,
largely because textual literacy does not develop until many years after children
have become regular television viewers.
Approximately, 80% of all advertising targeted to children falls within four
product categories: toys, cereals, candies, and fast-food restaurants. Young
children are able to differentiate between a TV program and a commercial but are
unable to understand the intent of an advertisement until they are 8-10 years of
age. According to Seiter, advertising to children avoids any appeal to the rational,
emphasizing instead that ads are for entertainment and "enjoyable for their own
sake" as opposed to providing any real consumer information.
The most common persuasive strategy employed in advertising to children is to
associate the product with fun and happiness, rather than to provide any factual
product-related information. Hence, children in the age category 8-10 years have a
positive attitudetowards advertisements. Knowledge of advertising tactics and appeals
emerges only in early adolescence and develops thereafter. The ability to recognize
bias and deception in ads, coupled with an understanding of advertising's intent, results
in less trust and less liking of commercials. With increasing age, children's attitude
towards ads changes from being positive to negative and further as children step into
adolescence, they become skeptical of advertising. Children in young adolescence even
exhibited mistrustful predispositions towards advertising. In adolescents, knowledge
about advertiser tactics increased with age. Higher levels of knowledge of advertiser
tactics and certain personality variables were positively related to adolescents'
skepticism towards advertising.

29
 CHAPTER-3

3.1 GRAPHS

CHART 1: Showing Opinion Of Parents Regarding To The

Impact Of Advertisements On Children

Negative
21%

Positive
79%

Interpretations: Parents when asked about the impact of

advertisements on ‘Eating habits’ of children, 79% parents responded that
the impact is negative and only 21% responded that the impact is positive.
This is mainly due to those advertisements, which motivate the children to
consume healthy food like milk, Egg, and health drinks

30
 CHART 2: Impact Of T.V Advertisements On Purchasing
Decisions

T.V Advertisements
40%
Can't Say

60%

Interpretations: About 60% parents responded that their children

aggressively demand some food item and dominate the purchase decision due to
its advertisement on TV, remaining 40% Opinioned that can’t say.

31
CHART 3: Circumstances Of Purchase Children Products

7%

10%
Useful and Needed
36%
Affordable
Innovative content
19%
Status symbol
No specific Reason

28%

Interpretations: Parents when asked about the circumstances in which they

grant the purchase demands of children initiated from advertisements, 36%
responded that they allow the purchase because the product is useful and
needed, 28% allow as the product is affordable, 19% allow as there is some
innovative content, 7% parents allow because owning product is status symbol
and 10% parents allowed the purchase for no specific reason, but just to get rid
of the demand of the children and irritation causing out of it.

32
CHART 4 : Chart Showing Opinion Of Parents For Regulating
TV ads

22%

Ads banned or ad messages

should be regulated
Ads targetting children should be
totally banned
12%
Children I food advertisements
66% should be banned

Interpretations: Nearly 92 % of the parents surveyed feel that there is

need for regulation as far as food related Advertisements are concerned. Of these
about 66% say that, either the advertisements of unhealthy food products should
be banned or the Ad Message should be regulated by including the warning
against excess consumption. 12% parents say that all the food Ads targeting
children should be totally banned and about 22% say that the use of children in
food advertisements should be banned, as when children themselves advocate
such products, it becomes difficult for the parents to convince their kids for not
eating.

33
 CHART 5 : Eating While Watching TV

20%

Eating while watching TV

Not

80%

Interpretations: Around 80% of children watch TV while eating which may

affect their food intake

34
 CHART 6 : Type Of Program Children Watch On TV

75%
Cartoon Channels
Movies
Reality Shows
1.2
Advertisements

16% 5%

Interpretations - Children when asked about the type of program they

generally watch on television around 75% of the children watch cartoon channels,
56% watch movies, 16% watch serials and especially children reality shows, and
only 4% see advertisements. The ads which are shown on cartoon Channel are
invariably seen by the children and thus impact children psychology.

35
 CHAPTER-4

4.1 MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

 It is found that majority of parents opined that there is a definite impact of Ads on
eating habits of children.
 It is found that majority of children influenced by TV advertisements.
 It is found that majority of parents purchased children’s’ products which are
needed and useful.
 It is found that majority of parents opined that ads should be banned and regulate
relating to the children food items.
 It is found that generally children are watching TVs while eating.
 It is found that Children prefer to watch cartoon channels.
 It is found that In India, there are no specific advertising laws that relate to
children and food related advertisements in particular.

4.2 CONCLUSION
 Today, particularly young children play an important role as consumers.
 Children do not care whether these products are healthy for them or not. While
they are shopping, the first thing comes in their mind is to purchase the
advertised products. In this situation advertisement has a stronger effect on
younger children.
 Nowadays it seems that children’s impact on finally decision in shopping has
steadily increased.
 After the research it was found the most important communication tool is
television advertisements which have more impact and effect on children than
the other medium of advertising.

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 4.3 SUGGESTIONS TO REGULATE THE
IMPACT OF ADs ON CHILDREN EATING
HABITS

 It is suggested that Parents may be educated and they educate their children
about advantages of eating healthy and disadvantages of unhealthy food.
 It is suggested that Government may insist on companies to print statutory
warnings on junk food & carbonated drinks like tobacco products.
 It is suggested that Government may develop advertisement laws.
 It is suggested that Government may also take care while formation of rules and
regulations in advertisements taking.
 It is suggested that any food ADs should be scrutinized with regards to the claims
they are making and the food ingredients should meet some standards laid down
by recognized organization like WHO.
 It is suggested that TVs should be poses a limit on advertising time.

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 webliography

 www.management paradise.com
 www.scribd.in
 www.wikipedia.in
 www.momjunction.com
 www.ukessays.com

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