ROBERT E.

HITE AND RANDY ECK

ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN: ATTITUDES OF BUSINESS vs. CONSUMERS

ROBERT E. HITE is an associate professor of marketing at Kansas State University. His researcfi interests include the advertising ot professionai services, salesperson and saies management studies, and mari<efing education. Dr. Hite's articies have appeared in such journais as the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, and Journal of Marketing Education.

RANDY ECK is an instructor of marketing at the University of Northern Coiorado in Greeley, Colorado. He received his M.S. in business administration from Colorado State University and his B.S. in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, Pennsivania. He has been pubiished in the Southwestern Marketing Association Conference Proceedings.

dvertising directed toward children is a controversial topic that has stirred significant debate in recent years. Public interest groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Action for Children's Television have presented arguments to the Federal Trade Commission and the National Association of Broadcasters that would ban or severely limit commercials on child-oriented programs (Enis, Spencer, and Webb, 1980). Critics have stated that advertising directed toward children creates materialism, stifles creativity, creates conflict between the parent and child, and hinders the development of moral and ethical values. Concern has been especially high in recent years with regard to advertisements of sugared foods and their contribution to tooth decay. Perhaps the most sweeping attack on advertising is the feeling that it is inherently unfair and deceptive because of a child's inability to interpret the selling intent of the message or tell the difference between the program and the commercial. Children should be viewed as a special audience who may be psychologically unable to assess the value of product differences and often lack the maturity to effectively judge and evaluate the claims made by manufacturers. The lack of experience and cognitive development, critics claim, can easily result in children being misled or confused by the advertisements they see on television or for that

matter any media vehicle (Weisskoff, 1985). The ability to perceive what advertising is and is meant to do depends on such factors as the age of the child, the child's educational attainment level, and the amount of influence parents have in mediating and explaining advertising directed toward children. Previous research applying Piaget's "theory of cognitive development" has shown that children do pass through defined levels of cognitive development and the age in which these stages are obtained vary by each child. As a result, younger children may not be able to assimilate as much information or understand the purpose of a commercial as well as older children (Rubin, 1974). Proponents of advertising to children have attempted to counter the arguments of concerned parents and public interest groups. Advertising, they contend, serves as an information source and teaches children the consumption skills necessary to function in the marketplace. Apart from providing useful product information, advertising affords a child the opportunity to evaluate the attributes of different product offerings and teaches children how to buy. While some commercials may be viewed as deceptive and manipulative, there is no set standard or norm on what constitutes an unacceptable level of deception. Some argue it is the responsibility of parents and not manu-

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facturers to monitor the shows their children watch and explain the nature and purpose of advertising. There is also a lack of evidence indicating that children can be harmed by the advertising directed toward them. Today's adults have been bombarded with thousands of advertisements throughout their childhood with no apparent negative effects. An individual's norms and values are formed by all life experiences and not just advertising.

While some commercials may be viewed as deceptive and manipulative, there is no set standard or norm on what constitutes an unacceptable level of deception.
Perhaps the strongest argument in support of advertising to children is that restrictions would violate advertisers' freedom of speech to their target audience (Enis, Spencer, and Webb, 1980). There is strong sentiment in this country to uphold such principles, and regulations proposed by the Federal Trade Commission would be subject to legal challenge as being unconstitutional and in violation of the first amendment. Legislation intended to benefit the consumer, in this case children, can sometimes do more harm than good (Rotfeld and Reid, 1979). A law may be successful in accomplishing its primary objective but inadvertently create secondary consequences having an unintended negative effect on others. Public interest groups such as Action for Children's Television have proposed legislation intended to protect the child viewing audience by banning or reducing the amount of television advertising

per hour. More than 20 percent of the population in the United States is comprised of children under the age of 13, and studies have shown that the average child spends more time watching television than in school. As a result, television advertising has been the focus of attention with toy, cereal, and candy manufacturers vying for the vast majority of airtime. Children between the ages of 2 and 11 watch approximately 26 hours of television a week and may see between 22,000 and 25,000 commercials a year (Weisskoff, 1985). Other promotional vehicles including radio, magazines, comic strips, point of purchase displays, advertisements in movie theaters, and cable television are also reaching children with increasing regularity. With the proliferation of these media vehicles and the intense competition to influence child viewers, the criticism directed toward advertising to children has reached an all-time high.

by advertising to ask for the advertised product. Cognitive Effects. The cognitive capabilities of children and the extent to which they understand the nature of television commercials has been widely researched. Rubin (1974) applied the principles of Piaget's "theory of cognitive development," in which a child is believed to pass through defined stages of cognitive development. Each stage is thought to build on the previous one, but the age a child reaches each level may vary. As a result, advertising may be viewed in different ways by children of the same age dependent on the extent of their cognitive development. Rubin studied 72 children in the first, third, and sixth grades. These age levels were chosen to coincide with the second, third, and fourth stages of Piaget's developmental paradigm. A new General Foods breakfast cereal, "Pink Panther Flakes," was shown to the children in two separate commercials. After the presentation, the children were interviewed to determine if they understood the purpose of the advertisements and if they could recall the message content. The results demonstrated that younger children in

Previous Research
An issue that should be examined regarding this controversial topic is the effect that advertising has on children. A principal criticism of advertising to children is the belief that such commercials are inherently unfair and deceptive because of a child's lack of cognitive development and experience to interpret the message. According to Rossiter (1979), advertising can affect a child in three ways. (1) Cognitive effects: the ability of children to understand the nature and intent of advertising. (2) Attitudinai effects: the feeling children have toward advertising and their reaction to it. (3) Behavioral effects: the extent to which children are persuaded

. . . studies have shown that the average child spends more time watching television than in school.
Piaget's stage II of development did not assimilate as much information nor did they understand the purpose of advertisements as did children who were older and in a later stage of cognitive development. This study provided evidence that children begin to understand the nature of commercials at a particular cognitive
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Stage. Younger children may be at a disadvantage in viewing advertisements that are too complex for their stage of development. Additionally, Butter et al. (1981) found that 90 percent of preschool-age children did not understand the reason why advertisements are presented on television. Stephens and Stutts (1982) investigated the age at which children have the ability to understand the difference between a television program and a commercial. The sample consisted of 109 children aged 3 to 5 from six preschools in a southwestern metropolitan area. A "Bugs Bunny" cartoon and a commercial for a chocolate drink mix were shown to each child. Each commercial featured scenes of children and animated scenes of the product being used by "Quik Rabbit." The results demonstrated that the ability of a child to distinguish between a television program and a commercial improves with age. A child's cognitive understanding of the purpose of the commercial also increases as the child gets older. The implications of this study were that young children between the ages of 3 and 5 may respond to the perceptual cues shown on television but are less able to discriminate between commercials and programs and are less aware of the persuasive intent of advertising. Stutts, Vance, and Hudleson (1981) found that a child's age significantly influenced the speed in which they could recognize the commercial material within a cartoon segment. Ruedder, Sternthal, and Calder (1983) found that younger children may have a more difficult time choosing alternatives that are similar, many in number, or require the processing of detailed information, while older children were found to have better skills
42

. . . children from households where parents explained the purpose of advertising are less susceptible to deception than those from households with a low consumer teaching orientation.
to compare products. Hendon, McGann, and Hendon (1978) found that the ability of children to remember a television commercial was related significantly to age and intelligence. Additionally, Auken and Lonial (1985) studied children (from kindergarten, second, fourth, and sixth grade) and found that they could discriminate between human and animated characters. The researchers cautioned, however, that the ability of children to discriminate in animate/human terms is only influentially suggestive of the lack of possible deception in cartoons directed to children. The chronological age of cognitive development may not be the only variable affecting the ability of a child to understand a television advertisement. A study of Reid (1979) investigated the influence the family has on the ability of children to comprehend the advertising directed toward them. Reid observed nine families over a three-month period, and each family was given a ranking based upon either a high, moderate, or low consumer teaching orientation. This ranking was dependent upon the extent to which parents taught children the knowledge and skills necessary to function in the marketplace. The results indicated that even preschool children have the potential ability to understand advertising and that this ability is affected by the con-

sumer teaching orientation of the family. This study demonstrated that other factors (in addition to cognitive development) influence the consumer learning process and how children respond to commercials. The relationship a child has with others, past experiences, and the consumer teaching orientation of parents are other variables that should be considered. This research indicated that children from households where parents explained the purpose of advertising are less susceptible to deception than those from households with a low consumer teaching orientation. Attitudinai Effects. A number of studies have been done regarding the attitudes children have toward advertisements they see. Robertson and Rossiter (1974) investigated the extent to which children are capable of understanding the reasons why television commercials are shown and the effect on attitudes and purchase requests. The researchers interviewed 289 boys in the first, third, and fifth grades from five Catholic schools within the Philadelphia area. The results indicated that attitudes regarding the persuasive intent of a commercial is related to the age of a child and the educational level of parents. Older children whose parents have a higher than average educational level are more inclined to realize that a commercial is intended to induce a purchase decision than younger children whose parents are less educated. Bever, Smith, Bengen, and Johnson (1975) performed a study involving the attitudes of children toward advertising based on the cognitive development theory of Piaget. Interviews were conducted with 48 children between the ages of 5 and 12 from a cross section of working- and middle-class families in the

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northern counties of New Jersey. The results indicated that the attitudes children have toward advertising become more negative with age and their anger toward misleading advertising also increases. Approximately 75 percent of the children in the 11 to 12 age group felt that advertising is sometimes intended to "trick" the consumer, but over 65 percent believed that they could discern deceptive advertisements at least some of the time. The majority of the children in this age group expressed the importance of advertisers being truthful in their claims and cited the harmful consequences of lying. Younger children in the 5- and 6-year-old group lacked the cognitive skills necessary to extract information from the commercial and tended to regard everything they see on television as being entertainment. Since these children had a difficult time telling the difference between fantasy and reality, advertising was largely irrelevant to their lives. As children become older, they begin to develop principles of what advertising is ethically supposed to do. Behavioral Effects. Previous research has demonstrated that a child's cognitive understanding of advertising increases as the child grows older and attitudes toward commercials become more negative with age. Researchers have had problems, however, in attempting to determine the behavioral impact of advertising. This deficiency has occurred because of the distinction between intended behavior and actual behavior. While a commercial may create desire for the product being advertised, the acquisition usually requires a child to make a request to a parent. Since a young child normally does not have the financial resources to purchase a product, the behavioral measure most widely used is the frequency of

requests made to parents for advertised items. Robertson and Rossiter (1974) found that as children get older, the number of purchase requests made to parents decreases. When children were asked if they wanted the products that were advertised on television, responses demonstrated that 53 percent of the first graders, 27 percent of the third graders, and only 6 percent of the fifth graders had an affirmative answer. Ward and Wackman (1972) examined how children influence the purchase of various products and the yielding of mothers to such requests. The researchers distributed 132 self-administered questionnaires to the mothers of children 5 to 12 years of age in the Boston metropolitan area.

. . . results indicated that the attitudes children have toward advertising become more negative with age and their anger toward misleading advertising also increases.
Each mother was requested to indicate the frequency of their children's purchase attempts for 22 products. All of the products were heavily advertised but varied in price, frequency of purchase, ancl importance to a child (the extent to which a child directly consumed the product). The results indicated that purchase influence attempts decreased as children became older, but mothers were more likely to yield to purchase requests as children increased in age. Wiman (1985) found that mothers who interact frequently with their children received significantly more purchase requests than mothers who interacted on a less

frequent basis. Additionally, research indicates that children respond to advertising presented on radio and displayed in magazines as they do with commercials shown on television (Soldow, 1983). They are, however, more likely to watch television than listen to the radio or look at a magazine. Barry (1980) proposed a model, consisting of seven sequential steps, that is intended to aid advertisers and public policymakers in detecting deception in advertising and the resulting impact on child viewers. This model is the only one that could be found to aid advertisers and public policymakers in addressing deception in advertising to children. Barry acknowledged the difficulty in actual implementation, but the systematic framework provided could aid in the future analysis of advertisements directed toward children. A review of the literature produced one study which examined the attitudes of individuals affected by children's advertising. Barry (1978) investigated the attitudes of elementary school guidance counselors toward children's television advertising. This particular group was chosen because of their unique position of being able to observe children while much of their development occurs. Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 545 members of a national association of elementary school guidance counselors. The results demonstrated that guidance counselors had a very negative opinion of children's advertising. They felt that advertising causes undue materialism, exploits the young, stifles creativity, and lessens a child's interpersonal skills. Approximately 35 percent of the respondents agreed that advertising to children should be banned completely, but 50 percent of the sample felt that ad43

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vertising on television can play a positive function by teaching children how to buy products in the marketplace.

Table 1 Profile of Consumer Respondents (n = 178)

Demographic characteristics Age of respondent Under 20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 and over Number of children in household 0
1 2 3 4 Number Percent

Research Objectives
The objectives of this study were to determine the following: (1) Consumers' attitudes with regard to advertising directed toward children. (2) Manufacturers' (of children's products) attitudes with regard to advertising directed toward children. (3) Differences in attitudes between consumers and manufacturers with regard to advertising directed toward children. (4) Differences in consumer attitudes with regard to advertising directed toward children based on demographic characteristics. (5) Differences in manufacturer attitudes with regard to advertising directed to children based on the type of product produced, size of the firm, and level of advertising expenditure (toward children).

3 14 35 42 38 46

1.7 7.8 19,7 23.6 21.3 25.8

73 29 45 18 9 4

41.0 16.3 25.3 10.1 5.1 2.2

5 or more Household income Under $10,000 $10,000-19,999 $20,000-29,999 $30,000-39,999 $40,000-49,999 $50,000 and over Educational level 11 years or less High school diploma Some college Bachelor's degree Master's degree
Doctorate degree

3 19 31 41 29 55

1.7 10.7 17.4 23.0 16.3 31.9

6 15 57 56 29

3.4 8.4 32.0 31.5 16.3 8.4

Methodology
Two separate samples were utilized for this study. The consumer sample of 690 was drawn at random from a mailing list of 5000. The nationwide mailing list was purchased from one of the largest list brokers in the country and was drawn at random from a much larger population of consumers that is maintained by the company. A profile of the consumer sample is shown in Table 1. The list of manufacturers consisted of firms that produce products which are targeted to children (toys, games, candy, cereal, etc.). This national mailing list of 310 companies was obtained from the Million Dollar Di-

15

rectory. All firms listed under the following SIC codes were included: 3942 dolls; 3944 games, toys, children's vehicles; 2043 breakfast cereals; and 2065 candy. A proflle of the business firms is shown in Table 2. Selfadministered questionnaires were mailed to both samples, generating 178 usable consumer responses (a 38.5 percent response rate) and 88 usable business re-

sponses (a 28.4 percent response rate). A cover letter on university letterhead accompanied the questionnaires which indicated that the research study was being done to fulfill the requirements of a graduate level thesis, that the budget was limited, and therefore respondent cooperation was appreciated. No other special inducements or follow-up techniques were used.

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Table 2 Profile of Business Firm Respondents (n = 88)

Demographic characteristic Product produced toys and games candy cereal other Annual expenditure on advertising directed toward children under $500,000 $500,000-999,999 $1-4.9 million $5-9.9 miilion $10-19.9 million over $20 million Annual saies $0-.9 million $1-2.9 million $3-4.9 miliion $5-9.9 million $10-19.9 miliion over $20 million Number Percent

27 32
2

30.6 36.4 2.3 30.7

27

64 7 7 5 3
2

72.7 7.9 7.9 5.7 3.4 2.3

5 12 12 13 13 33

5.7 13.6 13.6 14.8 14.8 37.5

The questionnaire contained 27 attitudinal statements which were similar in design to those used by Barry (1978). A five-point Likert scale was used with "strongly agree, agree, no opinion, disagree, and strongly disagree" as the response options. Some of the statements directed toward consumers were different from those directed toward the business firm respondents in order to make them applicable to each group. The statements were placed on the questionnaire in random order, some of which may be viewed as "pro" advertising and some as "con." Additional items were included at the end of the instrument to obtain demographic information for each sample. The data was analyzed using f-tests to determine if significant

attitudinal differences existed (at the .10 level or lower) between the consumer and business firm respondents. Cross-tabulations were performed to determine if attitudinal differences existed (for each group) based on demographic characteristics. These were analyzed using chi-square tests at the significance level of .10 or lower.

Results
Twenty-two identical statements were utilized in this study to determine if significant differences in attitudes concerning advertising directed toward children existed between the consumer and business firm respondents. As shown in Table 3, significant differences in atti-

tudes (at the .004 confidence level or lower) existed for 18 of the 22 statements presented on the questionnaire. The f-tests indicated that consumer respondents had more negative attitudes regarding advertising directed toward children, and for that matter of advertising in general, than did respondents from the business firms. Consumers reported significantly greater disagreement with there being nothing ethically wrong with advertising to children, and that advertisers do not have the right to advertise to whomever they want because of freedom of speech. The consumer respondents reported significantly greater agreement with statements that advertising to children stifles creativity, promotes materialism, and encourages poor nutritional habits regarding sugared foods. Furthermore, the consumers indicated significantly greater disagreement that advertising provides useful information on new products and that the advertising industry is doing an adequate job of decreasing the number of deceptive and unfair children's advertisements through self-regulatory efforts. The consumers, however, showed significantly greater agreement with the statement that most parents are not concerned about the advertising directed to their children. This indicates that consumers have negative attitudes toward children's advertising but may not be inclined to do much about it. It is interesting to note that both the business firm respondents and the consumers agreed that companies should be held liable for deceptive and unfair advertising; that parents should discuss with children the purpose of advertising; and that children can usually tell the difference between a television program and a commercial. They all also expect

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Table 3 Differences in Attitudes of Consumers and Business Firms with Regard to Advertising Directed toward Chiidren
Mean Statement 1. There is nothing ethically wrong with advertising to chiidren. 2. Parents shouid discuss with children the purpose of advertising. 3. Television is the best medium to use in advertising to chiidren. 4. 1 expect the use of advertising directed to chiidren to increase in the future. 5. Children's advertising is useful because it provides usefui information on new products. 6. Television advertising does not exert a powerful influence on the behavior of chiidren. 7. Advertisers have a right to advertise to whomever they want because of freedom of speech. 8. 1 feel that advertising to chiidren leads to family conflicts because it disrupts the parent-child relationship. 9. Children can usually tell the difference between a television program and a commercial. 10. 1 have an overall good image of advertising. 11.1 feel that companies should be held liable for deceptive and unfair advertising. 12. The majority of advertisements directed at children have been tastefully done. 13. The advertising industry does an adequate job in lessening the number of deceptive and unfair children's advertisements through their seif-regulatory efforts. 14. Advertising is okay to sell carsbut not toys to chiidren. 15. It's okay to have program characters appear on advertisements directed to chiidren. 16. Most parents are not concerned about the advertising directed at their children. 17. Advertising of sugared foods to chiidren promotes poor nutritionai habits and heaith risks. 18. All advertising is deceptive no matter who It is aimed at. 19. 1 would purchase a product from a firm that advertises. 20. Advertising directed to children promotes materialism. 21. Children are affected more by adult commerciais than ones specificaily designed for them. 22. A child's creativity Is stifled by excessive viewing of television advertising. ^ Lower means indicate greater agreement. Business firms^ 2.40 1.69 2.05 2.21 2.80 4.00 2.45 3.61 2.36 2.33 1.56 2.66 Consumers^ 3.20 1.75 2.49 2.10 3.40 4.37 3.16 3.02 2.56 3.13 1.55 3.15 -5.09 -.58 -2.90 1.01 -4.03 -2.90 -4.17 4.09 -1.38 -5.47 .13 -3.55 Significance .0001 n.s. .004 n.s. .0001 .004 .0001 .0001 n.s. .0001 n.s. .0001

2.91 3.87 2.57 3.28 2.94 4.26 1.82 3.19 3.44 3.10

3.47 3.17 3.15 2.75 2.25 3.64 2.24 2.54 3.20 2.73

-4.29 5.02 -4.13 3.70 4.44 4.39 -4.3'1 4.69 2.15 2.57

.0001 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001 .032 .011

that advertising to children will increase in the future.

Differences in Attitudes of Business Firms Based on Product. The business firm respondents were divided into two groups based upon the type of

product manufactured (toys/ games versus candy/cereal). Chisquare tests were performed to determine if significant differences (at the .10 level or lower) in attitudes existed between the two groups of respondents, as shown

in Table 4. The respondents from candy/cereal companies had more favorable attitudes regarding advertising to children than did the respondents representing the producers of toys/games. Significantly more candy/cereal respon-

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dents felt that the majority of advertisements directed toward children had been tastefully done and reported stronger disagreement that advertising of sugared foods promotes poor nutritional habits and health risks. It is interesting to note, however, that the respondents from toy/game manufacturers agreed more strongly that sales profits would be adversely affected if they were not allowed to advertise to children. The toy/game manufacturers appear to be more inclined to advertise on other media (than

television) such as magazines, comic books, radio, etc., than were the producers of candy/cereal. Differences in Business Firm Attitudes Based on Size. The business firms that responded to this questionnaire were divided into two groups based upon their level of sales. Small companies were classified as having sales of under $10 million while large companies had $10 million or more in sales. Chi-square tests were performed to determine if significant differences were

present in attitudes between respondents of the large and small firms concerning the issue of children's advertising. Table 5 shows eight significant differences (at .10 or lower). Representatives from larger companies appeared to have a more favorable attitude toward advertising to children than did those from smaller firms. The respondents representing the bigger companies showed greater agreement that there is nothing ethically wrong with advertising to children and that the majority of ad-

Table 4 Differences in Attitudes of Business Firms by Type of Company with Regard to Advertising Directed toward Chiidren
Attitude response Agree or strongly agree No opinion Disagree or strongly disagree 8 (30.8) .03 candy/cereai toys/games Television advertising does not exert a powerful influence on the behavior of chiidren. candy/cereal Besides television, my firm advertises to children in other media inciuding magazines, comic books, radio, cable TV, etc. toys/games 9 (26.5) 13(50.0) 2 (5.9) 2 (7.7) 23 (67.6) 11 (42.3) .05 candy/cereal toys/games The majority of advertisements directed at children have been tastefully done. candy/cereal Advertising of sugared foods to children promotes poor nutritional habits and health risks. toys/games 22 (66.7) 14(51.9) 3(9.1) 5 (18.5) 8 (24.2) 8 (29.6) .06 candy/cereal toys/games All advertising is deceptive no matter who it is aimed at. candy/cereal toys/games Children are affected more by adult commercials than ones specifically designed for them. candy/cereal 2 (6.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 11 (40.7) 31 (94) 10 (30.3) 5(18.5) 3(9.1) 2 (7.4) 20 (60.6) 20(74.1) .08 6 (19.4) 11 (40.7) 4(12.9) 9 (33.3) 21 (67.7) 7 (26.0) .05 10(31.3) 2 (7.4) 1 (3.1) 0 (0.0) 21 (65.6) 25 (92.6) .05 Significance Overall chi-square probability

Statement

Type of company toys/games

15(57.7)

3(11.5)

Sales and profits would be adversely affected if we were not allowed to advertise to chiidren.

16(59.3)
.06

6(18.2)

13(39.4)

14 (42.4)

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Table 5 Differences in Attitudes between Larger and Smaller Business Firms with Regard to Advertising Directed toward Children
Attitude response Agree or strongly agree No opinion Disagree or strongly disagree Significance Overali chi-square probabiiity

Statement

Size of company Under $10 million in sales

22(61.1)

3 (8.3)

11 (30.6) .08

There is nothing ethically wrong with advertising to children. $10 million plus in sales Under $10 million in sales Children's advertising is useful because it provides useful information on new products. $10 million plus in sales Under$10 miliion in saies 27 (60.0) 9 (25.0) 10 (22.2) 9 (25.0) 8(17.8) 18(50.0) 35 (77.8) 11 (31.4) 0 (0.0) 8 (22.9) 10(22.2) 16 (45.7)

.01

I feel that advertising to children leads to family conflict because it disrupts the parent-child relationship.

.09 $10 miiiion plus in sales Under $10 million in sales 7(15.6) 18(50.0) 5(11.1) 14(38.9) 33 (73.3) 4(11.1) .004 $10 million plus in sales Under $10 million in sales 26 (60.5) 11 (30.5) 4 (9.3) 15(41.7) 13 (30.2) 10 (27.8) .04 $10 million plus in sales Under $10 million In sales 20 (46.5) 15(41.7) 7(16.3) 10(27.8) 16(37.2) 11 (30.5) .02 $10 million plus in sales Under $10 million in sales 31 (72.1) 9 (25.0) 5(11.6) 6(16.7) 7 (16.3) 21 (58.3) .10 $10 million plus in sales Under $10 million in sales 20 (46.5) 12(33.3) 3 (7.0) 13(36.1) 20 (46.5) 11 (30.6) .05 $10 million plus in sales 12(27.9) 7 (16.3) 24 (55.8)

The majority of advertisements directed at children have been tastefully done.

The advertising industry does an adequate job in decreasing the number of deceptive and unfair children's advertisements through their self-regulatory efforts.

It's okay to have program characters appear on advertisements directed to children.

Most parents are not concerned about the advertising directed at their children.

Advertising directed to children promotes materialism.

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vertisements have been tastefully done. Larger companies also felt that advertising to children is beneficial because it provides useful information on new products, and strongly disagreed that such advertising leads to family conflict because it disrupts the parent-child relationship. Differences in Consumer Attitudes Based on Age. The consumers who responded to this questionnaire were divided into two groups based on age, with younger consumers being under the age of 50 and older consumers being 50 and older. Chi-square tests were performed to determine if significant differences in attitudes between younger and older consumers existed with regard to advertising to children. Four significant differences were found!, as shown in Table 6. Older consumers appeared to have a more negative opinion of advertising directed at children than did their younger counterparts. Those individuals 50 and older agreed more

strongly that advertising leads to family conflict because it disrupts the parent-child relationship and promotes poor nutritional habits and health risks. Older consumers were also more likely to support regulation that would ban or severely restrict advertising to children. Differences in Consumer Attitudes Based on Education. The consumers who responded to this questionnaire were divided into two classifications based on educational attainment. The higher education group had at least a bachelor's degree, and consumers with a lower educational level had some college or less. Chi-square tests were performed to determine if significant differences in attitudes concerning advertising to children existed between the two groups. Table 7 shows that four significant differences were found. A greater percentage of consumers with some college or less felt that advertising to children leads to family conflict because it disrupts

the parent-child relationship. These respondents also reported greater agreement that parents are not concerned about the advertising directed toward their children. Those with a lesser education agreed more strongly than respondents with a college degree that it is all right to have program characters appear on advertisements directed to children. Additionally, consumers with some college or less expressed greater agreement than did consumers with a college degree that children are able to tell the difference between the television program and the commercial. Differences in Consumer Attitudes Based on the Presence of Children. The consumer respondents were divided into two groups based upon whether they have children or not. Three significant differences were found^ between the groups, as shown in Table 8. Those households with one or more children disagreed more strongly that advertising is

Table 6 Differences in Attitudes of Consumers by Age with Regard to Advertising Directed toward Children
Attitude response Agree or strongiy agree 40 (44.0) No opinion (9.9) Disagree or strongly disagree Significance Overall chi-square probability

Statement I would support regulations that would ban or severely restrict children's advertisements.

Age

Under 50

42(46.1)
.006

50 and over i feel that advertising to children leads to family conflict because it disrupts the parent-child relationship. Under 50

50 (58.8) 29(31.5)

15 (17.6) 12(13.0)

20 (23.5) 51 (55.5)
.01

50 and over Under 50 Children should be allowed to watch television after 10 p.m. 50 and over Under 50 Advertising of sugared foods to children promotes poor nutritionai habits and health risks. 50 and over

41 (48.2) 11 (12.8)

16(18.8) 4 (4.7)

28 (33.0) 71 (82.5)
.02

2 (2.7) 53 (61.0)

9(12.0) 7 (8.0)

64 (85.3) 27 (31.0) .0004

64(83.1)

8 (10.4)

5 (6.5)

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Table 7 Differences In Attitudes of Consumers by Education with Regard to Advertising Directed toward Children
Attitude response Agree or strongly agree No opinion Disagree or strongly disagree Significance Overall chi-square probability

statement

Education some college or less

i feel that advertising to children leads to family conflict because it disrupts the parent-child relationship.

36 (47.4)

6 (7.9)

4 (44.7) .03

college degree some college or less Chiidren can usually teli the difference between the television program and the commercial. coliege degree some college or less It's okay to have program characters appear on advertisements directed to children. college degree some college or less Most parents are not concerned about the advertising directed at their chiidren. college degree

34 (33.7) 55 (77.5)

22 (21.8) 0 (0.0)

45 (44.6) 16(22.5) .03

55 (59.8) 32 (47.0)

3 (3.3) 11 (16.2)

34 (37.0) 25 (36.8) .04

27 (28.7) 46 (64.8)

26 (27.7) 4 (5.6)

41 (43.6) 21 (29.6) .03

44 (46.8)

15(16.0)

35 (37.2)

useful in providing information on new products than did those respondents having no children. Those consumers without children, however, felt more strongly that children should be encouraged to watch public television that has no advertising. The respondents with children reported stronger disagreement that children are affected more by adult commercials than those designed for them.

Discussion
The debate concerning the nature, control, and ethics of advertising to children is likely to continue for years to come. As in most controversial topics, one individual may view advertising to children as being manipulative, unethical, or unfair and demand
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regulations to protect the child viewer. Another may look at advertising to children as serving as an information function and enhancing the development of needed consumption skills. This study has provided evidence that consumers and respondents from manufacturing firms differ significantly with regard to this controversial issue. The results indicate that consumers have a more negative view with regard to advertising directed to children than do the business firm respondents. In fact, many of the criticisms that had been brought against children's advertising by Action For Children's Television and other public interest groups were shared by the consumers in this study. Basically, advertising was viewed by consumers more critically in terms of being ma-

nipulative, promoting materialism, stifling creativity, encouraging poor nutritional habits, and disrupting the parent-child relationship. Consumers expressed greater disagreement concerning the advertising industry in terms of doing an adequate job of lessening the number of deceptive advertisements through self-regulatory efforts. A comparison can be made between this study and Barry's (1978) attitudinal study involving elementary school guidance counselors. While dealing with two different samples, it appears that the views held by guidance counselors are parallel to the negative view of children's advertising reported by consumers in this study. The respondents from manufacturing firms indicated a signif-

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Table 8 Differences in Attitudes of Consumers Regarding Advertising Based on the Presence of Children
Attitude response Have children or not No chiidren Children's advertising is useful because it provides information on new products. Some children No children Children should watch public television which has no advertising. Some children No children Children are affected more by adult commercials than ones specifically designed for them. Some children 49 (47.6) 15 (22.7) 24 (23.3) 30 (45.5) 30 (29) 21 (31.8)
.10

Significance Disagree or strongly disagree 34 (46.6)

.10

Statement

Agree or strongly agree 26 (35.6)

No opinion 13(17.8)

Overall chi-square probability

30 (28.9) 48 (66.7)

ID (9.6) 7 (9.7)

64(61.5) 17(23.6)
.02

21 (21.2)

31 (31.4)

47 (47.5)

icantly more positive image of advertising to children and of advertising in general. This can be expected because often a firm's position in the marketplace, as well as sales and profit levels, are directly dependent upon how well consumers recognize a brand. Advertising is fundamental in creating brand awareness. This study has shown that business firm respondents have more positive attitudes concerning advertising's usefulness in providing information on new products and disagreed more often than consumers with the statements involving materialism, stifled creativity, and disrupted parent-child relationships. The business firm respondents also felt that the advertising industry is doing an adequate job of lessening the number of deceptive and unfair advertisements through self-regulatory efforts. This is not to say that business firm respondents felt that all advertising to children is ethical. In fact, the majority of respondents felt that companies should be held liable for deceptive and unfair advertisements to children.

The results of this study indicated that larger companies had a more favorable attitude toward children's advertising than did the smaller firms. The respondents from larger firms were more inclined to agree that advertising to children is beneficial because it provides useful information on new products and disagreed that such advertising disrupts the parent-child relationship. Respondents representing the larger companies also felt more strongly that the advertising industry is doing an adequate job of decreasing the number of deceptive and unfair advertisements through self-regulation. The larger companies normally are spending substantially more funds on advertising to children than the smaller firms and thus may be inclined to have a more favorable attitude concerning such advertising. A larger firm is more likely to use advertising as a means of increasing the awareness of their brands in the marketplace and obtaining a substantial market share. Therefore, they would have more to lose if additional

legislation was passed to control advertising directed toward children. Business leaders and government officials realize children may be put at a disadvantage in viewing advertising directed at themdue to their yet undeveloped cognitive abilities. However, the competitive nature of the marketplace limits what an advertiser can do to reduce the number and type of children's commercials that are broadcast (Turk, 1979). With regard to consumers, the results indicated that some differences in attitudes concerning children's advertising were present based on demographics. Individuals in the upper age brackets (50 and over) and those with less than a college degree had the most negative attitude toward children's advertising. Older consumers in particular felt that advertising to children disrupted the parent-child relationship and promoted poor nutritional habits and health risks. The majority of these respondents indicated they would support regulation that would control advertising directed toward

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children. As the number of older Americans increases in the future, politicians and regulators may be more influenced by the elderly and more inclined to support regulations restricting advertisements to children. The implications of this study surround the differing viewpoints of advertisers and consumers concerning a complex issue which affects many people. To effectively reach a compromise, it would seem that both sides should develop more empathy and understanding of the attitudes and viewpoints of the other. Consumers and public interest groups should make a dedicated effort to understand the importance of advertising regarding a business firm's market share, sales, and profit levels. The constitutional issue of freedom of speech and the right of a firm to communicate with its target market should be understood before proposals are prepared that would further regulate advertising to children. Feldman, Wolf, and Doris (1977) found that the concern parents have with regard to child-directed commercials is far from widespread and that the respondents were reluctant to engage in the direct censorship of children's television viewing. Those parents were also shown to have an unwillingness to trust government regulations and preferred to have self-regulation within the advertising industry. Grossbart and Crosby (1984) also found that parents do not appear to make a substantial effort to mediate the effects of food advertising by limiting the amount of television viewing or discussing the contents and meaning of advertisements. Recently, the world's most restrictive law regulating television advertising to children (a 1980 statute in Frenchspeaking Quebec that, in effect.

banned all advertising to children under 13 years of age) was declared a violation of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Kucway, 1986). Likewise, advertisers should make an effort to more thoroughly understand the reasons

. . . advertisers should make an effort to more thoroughly understand the reasons for the apparent negative attitudes that consumers have toward advertising to children.
for the apparent negative attitudes that consumers have toward advertising to children. Advertisers may want to review their current advertisements to determine if the child viewer is being unjustly manipulated and take corrective action to rectify any deceptive practices. The actual determination of what is an unacceptable level of deception or manipulation in children's advertising has yet to be determined. Perhaps Barry's (1980) model to ascertain deception in children's advertising can be used as a guide within the advertising industry to set standards to detect deception before the advertisement ever reaches the child viewer. His suggestion of an interdisciplinary panel of judges comprised of mothers, fathers, marketers, psychologists, etc., who preexamine advertisements for possible deception appears to be a step in the right direction. The FTC could assume a more active role in the development of educational advertisements that would teach children proper consumption skills and how to make rational decisions

on product choices (Enis, Spencer, and Webb, 1980). Further, elementary school systems can provide educational programs that would teach children the purpose of advertising and how to interpret the selling intent of the message. Finally, the family, as the basic social unit, should take an active role in explaining to children the purpose of advertising and how to evaluate a commercial. The results of this study provided evidence of the view that parents may be neglecting these duties. Much can be done to bridge the gap in attitudes between consumers and business firm respondents with regard to the issue of advertising to children. Working together as a team rather than adversaries would help to generate a solution that is agreeable to all involved.
References

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vertising and Children: Regulatory vs. Competitive Perspectives." Journal of Advertising 9, 1 (1980): 19-25. Feldman, Shel; Abraham Wolf; and Doris Warmouth. "Parental Concern About Child-Directed Commercials." Journal of Communication n (1977): 125-137. Grossbart, Sanford L., and Lawrence A. Crosby. "Understanding the Bases of Parental Concern and Reaction to Children's Food Advertising." Journal of Marketing 48, 3 (1984): 79-92. Hendon, Donald W.; Anthony F. McGann; and Brenda L. Hendon. "Children's Age, Intelligence, and Sex as Variables Mediating Reaction to TV Commercials: Repetition and Content Complexity Implications for Advertisers." Journal of Advertising 7, 3 (1978): 4-12. Kucway, Chris. "Canadian Toy Maker Topples Ban on Ads Aimed at Children." Advertising Age, September 29, 1986. Reid, Leonard N. "The Impact of Family Group Interaction on Children's Understanding of Television Advertising." Journal of Advertising 8, 3 (1979): 13-19. Robertson, T. S., and J. R. Rossiter. "Children and Commercial

Persuasion: An Attribution Theory Analysis." Journal of Consumer Research 1, 1 (1974): 13-20. Roedder, Deborah L.; Brian Sternthal; and Bobby J. Calder. "Attitude-Behavior Consistency in Children's Responses to Television Advertising." Journal of Marketing Research 20, 4 (1983): 337-349. Rossiter, John R. "Does TV Advertising Affect Children?" Journal of Advertising Research 19, 1 (1979): 49-53. Rotfeld, Herbert J., and Leonard N. Reid. "Potential Secondary Effects of Regulating Children's Television Advertising." Journal of Advertising 8, 1 (1979): 9-14. Rubin, Ronald S. "The Effects of Cognitive Development on Children's Responses to Television Advertising." Journal of Business Research 2, 4 (1974): 409-419. Soldow, Gary F. "The Processing of Information in the Young Consumer: The Impact of Cognitive Developmental Stage on Television, Radio, and Print Advertising." Journal of Advertising 12, 3 (1983): 4-14. Stephens, Nancy, and Mary Ann Stutts. "Preschoolers Ability to Distinguish Between Television Programming and Commercials."

Journal of Advertising 11, 2 (1982): 16-25. Stutts, Mary Ann; Donald Vance; and Sarah Hudleson. "ProgramCommercial Separators in Children's Television: Do They Help a Child Tell the Difference Between Bugs Bunny and the Quik Rabbit?" Journal of Advertising 10, 2 (1981): 16-25. Turk, Peter. "Children's Television Advertising: An Ethical Morass for Business and Government." Journal of Advertising 8, 1 (1979): 4-8. Van Auken, Stuart, and Subhash C. Lonial. "Children's Perceptions of Characters: Human versus Animate Assessing Implications for Children's Advertising." Journal of Advertising 14, 2 (1985): 13-22. Ward, Scott, and Daniel B. Wackman. "Children's Purchase Influence Attempts and Parental Yielding." Journal of Marketing Research 9, 3 (1972): 316-319. Weisskoff, Rita. "Current Trends in Children's Advertising." Journal of Advertising Research 25, 1 (1985): RC-12-14. Wiman, Alan R. "Parental Influence and Children's Responses to Television Advertising." Journal of Advertising 12, 1 (1985): 12-18.

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