Monday, February 20, 2012

Article: Kid Kustomers

24 comments:

  1. I have realized that there are tons of commercial ads that target children (usually very young children) with products ranging from toys, to food, and Disney products. What I did not realize, is that now there are cigarette, fast food and soft drink companies that are targeting specifically to young children. I honestly think it is sad that a study in 1991 found that nearly all of America's six-year-old children could identify Joe Camel, and was just as familiar to them as Mickey Mouse. After this, a study was found that one-third of the cigarettes illegally sold to minors were Camels. A more recent study asked children to describe their favorite TV ads, and the most popular ones were Taco Bell, Pepsi, and Nike (these seem to sound pretty accurate to me). The most popular television ad described by children in this study was for Budweiser. This is absolutely absurd! I do not think all of the companies providing these ads are to be put at blame solely, parents need to be aware of the television shows their young children are watching also. Advertising marketers know that when young children (really children of all ages) see these ad campaigns, it will give them a specific reason to ask for the product. "The aim of most children's advertising is straightforward: Get kids to nag their parents and nag them well." Also, parents these days seem obligated to constantly buy things for their children because they are not home as often and do not spend a sufficient amount of time together. These ads directed toward children are carefully thought out and developed by observation and surveying of the children.

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  2. I believe the line about how children would recognize the logo before the name is true. McDonald's is the leading company that advertises to kids exclusively in the world I think. The golden arches are so easily recognizable with children with bright yellow arches and big red sign underneath. The Happy meal is the biggest seller to children with the easy chicken nugets or cheeseburger option and especially the toy. McDonald's also uses the same advertisin for the parents as a way for them to cheaply feed their children and keep them entertained.

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  3. This multimedia our country is creating is in all forms- ads on tv, billboards, posters, etc. Children see this and want it. If a child is walking in the grocery store with their parent's and they are in the cereal or chip isle, they may see something that they saw on Tv. The shelves that are eye-level for the children are those that appeal to them and they want those specific items. There are ads all over tv for everthing now-a-days and parent's should be watching what their kids are viewing especially if it is not appropriate for their age. I liked the part about nagging- if you don't get it from one parent, try the other.. I definitely used this when I was a kid!

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  4. Marketing to kids has become a great way for companies to make money, because once a kid wants something they are very adamant about getting it. McDonald's wants to get kids wanting their happy meals, because they will bother their parents until they get it, and as a bonus, the parents will usually buy themselves something while they are there. This is very effective because it is a lot easier to convince a child that they want a Happy Meal rather than convince a parent to buy their child fast food. I think this article does an excellent job of raising awareness about what these companies are doing to raise their profits

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  5. Kids are the easiest targets for advertising. They don't have any bills to pay, don't have to pay for gas or other everyday living expenses. Therefore all of these advertisements for toys, video games, happy meals, and anything that makes them feel like they are cool and part of the popular culture are targeting the things most important to kids. Once they see a really awesome TV add they feel like they HAVE to have whatever it was they saw. Working parents feel the need to make their child happy and if its simply buying a new toy or game for them to play with, most parents are willing to do so. With how fast the world is changing, parents don't know what is popular and fun for their kids these days so they rely on their kids to tell them what it is they want. These companies that have perfected advertising to children are making a killing because of how big and easily influenced the market is. Kids don't have the maturity to depict these ads and realize that they are being suckered into the companies tricks.

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  6. Kids seem to be the most attractive customers for advertising today. These companies will find their way into kids television programming and show up on food products. This article mentions that market research has been done, and found that children often recognize a brand logo before they can recognize their own name. That is just outrageous. Cigarette companies have even used popular cartoon characters to sell cigarettes. There was a study published in 1991 which found that nearly all of America's six year olds could identify Joe Camel, who was just as familiar to them as Mickey Mouse was. This is not right in anyway and it surprises me that nothing has been done to stop this. The advertising towards kids has a goal which is giving the children a specific reason to ask for the product. Over the years the internet has become a powerful tool for receiving data about children. However, television is still the primary way for children's advertising.

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  7. I've always known that ads were manipulative, but I had never really thought about how they were for children. I don't think it is necessarily wrong to advertise for kids, but I believe that the ads should only show the truth. I also think it is wrong to research the children to learn what they want. Children are so susceptible to marketing and it can have long term effects that we do not even realize!

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  8. There is no doubt that kids plays a big role in advertisement today. it is pretty much impossible to avoid or prevent kids from seeing advertising. companies advertise everywhere, tv, radio, internet, posters. companies study kids psychology, and know that kids are more naive which make them more vulnerable to their way of advertising. it is weird how a kid can recognize the name of a product before even recognize its own name. I don't think it's fair to the parents because they can't really reverse the effect, since the kids aren't mature enough to understand what's going on. some parents try to discipline their kid, when they are still very young to cut out the acting up when they really want something that might not be really important. It works sometimes,and limit frustration for both the kids and the parents.

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  9. I'm shocked at the things I read in this article. I know that marketing ads are very manipulative and persuasive, but I was very unaware of the fact of just HOW manipulative they could be. It is ridiculous to me how many ads are really directed towards children. The part about the study of what the children's favorite commercial being Budweiser is unbelievable to me! I can't believe companies are really stooping that low. I also found it interesting about the data how whining/nagging really works. I am guilty of being the child that if one parent said no I would go ask the other. Children see advertisements everywhere; TV, radio, commercials, billboards, books, etc. I think it is very important for parents to monitor what they're watching on TV or listening to on the radio as much as possible. With these results, it is scary hear!

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  10. Kids should not be marketed in the consumer world or used for market sells. I think that it should not be an issue in the market, yet parents don't understand that when kids are marketed it effects them and the way they think. Kids can sometimes become the consumers and bad ones. It always ruins kid's way of thinking and when they get older they want more and more stuff that has no matter. The way the market address kids is all wrong. Kids should not be the targeted audience because kids have no concept of money. When kids want stuff it ruins the relationship between them and their parents as well. When the kids want something they whine and parents get frustrated ( which cause a misunderstanding). I think this article was very interesting. I liked it because made me aware. I do not want my children ( in the future, I don't have no kids now...but) to watch tv commercials.

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  11. People go through their daily routines without realizing how advertising plays a role in almost everything they see. From advertisements on the radio, tv, and internet, we are constantly being bombarded with these sorts of things. Each advertisement is tailored to get a viewer to purchase a certain item, or to develop an opinion that follows the advertiser's agenda. This article is very interesting because it points out that before 1979, the top three children's channels were nonexistent, which follows up with the statement that this is when parent's began to spend more on their children. Another point this article makes is that children don't understand the difference between the shows they watch and the commercials in between, which shows how susceptible they are to influence from advertisers. I don't think there is a problem with advertising to children, but I do think there is a problem with companies trying to manipulate children from a very early age.

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  12. Although it is unfortunate that children are being targeted in advertising campaigns, it is not surprising. Parents worship their children and want to attend to their every whim. In my opinion, aiming advertisements at children is more successful now because children are watching more television than ever, in which commercials are constantly shown. Advertisers even research what times the majority of children watch television so that they can air their commercials at the appropriate time. I think it is horrible that some of these advertisements are encouraging bad behaviors or even evoking children to nag their parents. Nagging is so annoying and I think it is a shame that parents have condone that nagging and do not say no to their children. The advertisements will always be there, but it is up to the parents to appropriately respond to them and to teach their children to do the same.

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  13. Children are the easiest consumers to target to buy products. The article mentions how children will beg and whine for something that they see on T.V. which is true. Every time my nephew sees something on T.V. that he wants, he begs for it until the next commercial comes on and then he wants that toy. Just because a child wants something does not mean that they should have it. Parents give in too easily to their kids' wants. As a kid, I never begged and whined for toys, because I knew what the answer was always going to be, a no.

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  14. The media today is even more manipulative and demanding while targeting children increasingly more. There is no surprise that children nowadays consume more than the recommended time watching television while constantly being spoonfed wants and desires for toys, clothing, or even foods. For example, many minivan commericals are now targeted at kids who want to have the automatic doors or the DVD players with headsets. Every where you look, their is marketing for items specifically targeting children. I like how Hannah brings up that many products in groceries stores with certain characters are at eye-level for children to see. When recalling our cereal isle at our local grocer, all of the "fruit" snacks that are shaped like certain characters are on the bottom 3 shelves! And people wonder why we have an increasing epidemic of sedentary, materialistic children today!

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  15. Media knows that children are most parent's "weak spot", and if they target them through advertisements, they are more likely to increase sales of their products. As a mother myself, it seems like almost every commercial I see nowadays is geared toward children. There is usally atleast 2 times a day, that my son says "I want that mom". Even though Advertisers are the ones directing their ads towards children, it's still the parent's responsibility to set boundaries for their children, and to let them know that they are not going to get everything they want and that nagging and whining is not gonna cut it. Everytime my son says "I want that", or "can I get a toy at the store?" I remind him that he can't get everything he wants or get something everytime we go to the store, but maybe he can ask Santa or get it for his birthday. He normally never gives me any trouble in the store or whines because I make it very clear before we go that he is not getting anything. Now if only I can get my husband to be a little more firm on the issue, then we would be set! lol

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  16. I was not surprised that children are targeted in advertising campaigns. It is unfortunate, but aiming at children would be successful. Children generally watch more television, so they would watch the most commercials. Advertisers try to make their commercials appeal to the consumers that will buy their product. I do not find it a good think to encourage bad behavior on children. Commercials shouldn't try to make the children nag or beg to their parents. Although the commercials evoke this behavior, it is the parents responsibly to correctly respond to their children and teach them to do the same. Commercials will always be there and advertisers will always do this.

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  17. I thought this article was pretty interesting due to the facts I didnt know about commericals and ads that are targeting our young children into negative ideas, such as smoking cigarrettes and barbies that can have babies now. I feel like our society is starting to be based off of advertisement and commericaials and how and what our society should look like and do. what ever happen to morals and values and knowing what is the right thing to do in the world? I think this article is an eye opener to what is happening to our children and we as a society should stop it before its too late. In the end I learned that maybe we as a society should cut down on children watching so much tv and more teaching in the homes maybe that will some how lower the rates of negative behaviors.

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  18. Kids are easy targets for advertising but they are also targets for many other things. It is up to the parents to teach the child the value of things in life. My parents would not buy me a toy I wanted until my birthday or Christmas. This was not a punishment- it was because they knew that I would not care about that toy 3 months down the road because a newer version would be out. They did not have a lot of money and I valued the things that I received. My parents may have bought me a Happy Meal every now and then but I always had to eat my vegetables. If I wanted a toy that they said no to, I had to save up my own birthday or babysitting money and buy it myself. Tv doesn't raise kids- the parents do. I think people try to push blame onto something else and it's time they step up and take responsibility.

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  19. This article opened my eyes to some thing I never really thought about. I didn't know that there were different types of nagging that kids do or that the advertisers strive for different ones. Staging fake slumber parties and other gatherings of children to study them, didn't seem right to me. I feel like its an invasion of their privacy.

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  20. They are many tv ads, and ads of other sorts that market directly to the product market. I do not seee a problem at all with companiess such as Mcdonalds offering smaller meals made for children. As the children may want Mcodanolds more after seeing the ad, it is the parents decision whether or not to give them the Mcdonalds. On the otherhand, they're are some products out there like alcohol that should only be cunsumed by adults, but some companies even adverties alcohol to children underage, even by creating ridiculous products like flavored vodka.

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  21. As someone whose taken a bunch of sales and marketing classes at USC, I wasn't really surprised by how much advertisers focus on children. Moms make close to 90% of all household purchases so it makes economical sense to target the children of the industry's biggest shoppers. While I don't necessary think advertising to children is a bad thing, I think such commercials or ads need to be held to a higher standard than other ads. Children's ads should tell the truth and not play off of a child's naiveté. I was surprised to learn just how much the typical American child watches television. I doubt children would be as affected by advertisements if they parents were more restrictive with TV time. The fact that children are watching almost 25 hours of TV a week, equivalent to time spent at a part-time job, is really shocking. I also think the fact that about 1/4 of children between the ages of 2 and 5 have a TV in their room is ridiculous. Children that age should be playing with Legos or friends or just spending time outside. Basically, I think parents should be paying more attention to their children and worrying about advertising strategies less.

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  22. I was not surprised to see that advertisements are being directed to children. Many times parents will spend money on their children before themselves;however, I was astonished to learn how much TV kids are allowed to watch.

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