When did you last sit down on a Saturday morning and watch cartoons? Did you pay any attention to the commercials that punctuated the hour's entertainment? If not, you should! According to a 1999 international survey conducted by Consumers International, children have become an increasingly important market for advertisers and therefore, not surprisingly, much television advertising is aimed at children. Because children are less able than adults to fully understand the intent of advertising or its persuasive techniques, they are less able to comprehend the validity of the information that they absorb. I believe that this is unethical, and that the practice should be either banned or carefully regulated.
What's wrong with marketing to kids, you may ask? The choices that children make about what products they spend their money on, and the influence they have on their parents" spending, can be detrimental to their health. You may be surprised by how much money that represents. According to a 1998 article in American Demographics, children's spending in 2001 is estimated to each $35 billion (Zoll, 2000)! .
Children who are enticed through advertising to believe that Pokemon Cereal is something they must have, will work hard to persuade their parents to buy it. The advertisers" claim that this sugar-laden, almost non-nutrient product is "part of a nutritious breakfast" is misleading. Children who are allowed to consume sugary foods usually do so at the expense of eating other, more nutritious foods (Zoll, 2001). As such, their health suffers. This applies to advertising for chips, soda pop, and numerous other "junk foods". Children simply can't differentiate between healthy foods and those that have little nutritional value, but they are pushed by the media to see those foods as "the best choice". This is truly unethical.
The tobacco industry has also targeted children in unethical advertising campaigns.
In the beginning advertising had its place. ... Is that ethical? ... Consumers were becoming numb to conventional advertising. ... What kid would not want to slam a basketball like Michael Jordan or hit a baseball like Ken Griffey Jr. ... Playing with such a influential minds is not ethical. ...
Truly though there are plenty of anti-capitalist, anti-consumerism, anti-beer, and anti-cigarette groups to fill any gap that businesses refuse to take in advertising slots. ... This idea is present where it is not as black and white wrong, such as with McDonalds targeting little kids and families in using their product. ... If other companies more ethical companies, such as adbusters, Michael Moore advertisements, "the truth" want more add space but are denied on account of their message how does that not affect capital. Does just capital come into playing when picking advertising or should...
Nigel Hollis states that "kids are a market in their own right.." I believe this comment is too simplistic as it "bundles" kids together as one homogenous group, denying them of any differentiation. ... Does this diminish the ethical debate over advertising to tweens? ... Pop-up advertising, product-related games (on the organisation's website) and WWW computer game (especially in virtual world games) product placement will become strong advertising methods in reaching this audience. ... The ethical debate over marketing to children has been going on since the 60's, when ma...
Coke's earnings declined despite aggressive growth targets, advertising, and promotional strategies which lost momentum (Etzel et al., 2004, p. 82). ... Coke still accounts for 60% of the company's global sales, and advertising hits include "Coke Is It", "Always Coca-Cola", and "The Real Thing" (Etzel et al., 2004, p. 84). ... Coke convinced Burger King to promote "Frozen Coke" as a kid's snack. ... The lawsuit against Coke stated that Coke executives gave a man $10,000 dollars so he could take hundreds of kids to Burger King to buy value meals for the sole purpose of falsify...
An ethical issue is raised by these kinds of practices. ... This is the case for fair practices in marketing and advertising. ... This seems like a perfectly rational idea at first, but the result is kids seeing adults and their mentors smoking and drinking rather than seeing their peers. ... It might be said that Microsoft would not be the giant it is today if they were forced to always abide by a strict ethical code. ... The competition in our system can be just as pervasive as the mass advertising we are subject to. ...
Parents really need to watch out and be mindful about what their kids are viewing in the movies. ... Kids are getting into NC-17, R, and PG-13 rated movies when they aren't supposed to. ... When a studio has a small movie and not a lot of money to spend on advertising, they often accuse the ratings board of censorship, racism, and discrimination. ... Not saying that that is the most ethical way to go about achieving the necessary publicity, but it does often prevail. ... I mean back when our parents were kids they didn't even see a married couple sleep in the same bed. ...
Avon is a world-famous brand, but the "Let's Talk" campaign that launched in the year of 2000 in over 20 international markets is the company's first global advertising effort that was created by Avon's own advertising department. ... In whole, "Let's Talk" was very successful and the advertising concept was a strategic move worldwide. ... This allows them to spend more time at home and with their kids. ... China's direct selling ban doesn't apply to traditional forms of direct marketing such as direct mail, catalog marketing, telemarketing, or direct-response...
Emphasis will be placed on ethical virtues, cultural differences, economic changes, and technological advances. ... "As scientific discoveries and societal realities force widespread ethical choices, domestic industries will intensify their efforts to attract Baby Boomers,"" (Wolf, 2003). ... The strategic roles of marketing provide clarity, consistency, and maximum relay to the overall communications impact including: à general advertising à direct response à sales promotion à public relations Dalrymple, Cron, & DeCarlo describe an Integrated Marketing Communications p...
Marketing & Advertising Nike's advantage may be partly credited to its tendencies to use big sports names, spend more on campaigns and advertisings, and the messages incorporated in the ads. ... The ads were run during primetime television and targeted towards kids (Garfield, 2000). Nike also introduced their P.L.A.Y. campaign that pushes kids to play sports to build confidence and stay out of trouble. ...
