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Teach Children
theTruth
About Advertising!
by
Graemme
J.
Marshall
Children in the U.S. watch upwards of 20,000 TV commercials a year. No wonder
children so influenced tell us what they'll eat, wear or play with.
I
T'S
Saturday morning.
And half the children in
the affluent world are do–
ing what they usually do
Saturday mornings: watching
TV. The 20th century elec–
tronic baby-sitter is exposing
little children to sales
pitches.
The little tykes in turn will
do the job of the advertiser
by haranguing parents to buy,
buy, buy! Advertisers, of course,
seek to reach through the child's
brain into the adult pocketbook.
From the moment children be–
gin to watch commercial TV they
are programmed for a life of ac–
tive consumption. Child-di–
rected advert ising encourages
children not only to buy, but it
also may lead children into poten–
tia! conflict with parents' values.
Sorne parents question whether
advertisers should be allowed to
aim thei r messages at young chil–
dren. Many simply allow children
to make purchasing decisions–
like footwear and clothes- at an
ever-younger age.
Parents often feel pressured
about products that to them may
be of poor quality, nonnutritious or
potentially hazardous.
They want their children to
Jearn to see througb sales tech–
niques, become less influenced by
advertising methods, and be more
14
able to make wise consumer deci–
sions.
lmpact of Advertising
We need to understand what ad–
vertising is and how to understand
it.
~
Advertising is a science de–
signed, mainly, to attack people's
weak spots. At the very least, chil–
dren may be presented an incom–
plete picture of reality.
Toys and highly sug-
~(1
ared foods account for the majority
of childreo's advertising. And re–
searchers say most children cannot
see through advertising techniques
until they are about 10 to 12 years
old.
Beware November and Decem–
ber! That is when half the year's
quota for toy
commercials
is aired. Lit-