Sie sind auf Seite 1von 78

Chapter 1

1.1 Introduction
Kids and the media is a growing concern. Even very young children in our society get a big daily dose of television, video games and music lyrics. While such media can provide education and entertainment, they can also damage children. The market for childrens products and food is enormous. Parents on the one hand have a hard time raising children the way they want to, while on the other hand, kids are being increasingly influenced by commercialism that often goes against what parents are trying to do. Even in industrialized societies, where governments and campaigners fight for better child advertising standards and regulations, or improved food quality, industry fights back preferring self-regulation (which rarely happens, or is intentionally weak), and arguing that it is individual choices and parents that are the issue. Advertisers spend 100s of billions of dollars a year worldwide encouraging, persuading and manipulating people into a consumer lifestyle that has devastating consequences for the environment through its extravagance and wastefulness. Advertising exploits individual insecurities, creates false needs and offers counterfeit solutions. It fosters dissatisfaction that leads to consumption. Children are particularly vulnerable to this sort of manipulation. Young children are increasingly the target of advertising and marketing because of the amount of money they spend themselves, the influence they have on their parents spending (the nag factor) and because of the money they will spend when they grow up. Whilst this child-targeted marketing used to concentrate on sweets and toys, it now includes clothes, shoes, a range of fast foods, sports equipment, computer products and toiletries as well as adult products such as cars and crChildren are bombarded by brand messages almost from birth, including counting books for preschoolers that use M&Ms or Cheerios, exposure to brightly colored and appealing branded packaging in the supermarket, movie and toy tie-ins in fast-food restaurants, product placement in movies, advertisements on television and the Internet, and pitches from entertainment and sports stars in a range of media. In fact, it is almost impossible to escape marketing messages. No wonder, then, that children as young as two are starting to recognize logos and request specific brands as soon as they begin to speak. Children are a prime target for marketers. Not only do children today have more disposable income at younger ages, but they have significant influence over family purchases. YTV's 2002 Teen Report estimated that Canadian children aged 9 to 14 spend $1.9 billion and influence $20 billion in family purchases per year. Marketing experts call it "pester power," or the "nag factor" the ability to get kids to nag their parents to buy a specific product or take them to a specific restaurant. After all, if your child asks you for the latest toy 37 times a day for a week, the odds are that you will eventually give in and buy it.

1|Page

1.2 Objective
To identify how a child or children can play a vital role in influencing purchase decision / behavior under stimulation from advertisements. Study of children as consumers. Understanding the kids as a target market.

Sub Objective
I. Study of advertising to the children.

II. Study of marketing strategy for the kids. III. Study of the impact of advertisement to the children. IV. Study of kids advertisement as a growing business. V. Study of rules and regulations regarding advertisement.

2|Page

1.3 Research Methodology

Statement of the Problem Through this report we want to find out how children are influenced by the advertisements especially of confectionary products. So the statement of this project would be Advertisements and Kids Research Design Research design selected for this project is Descriptive. Scope: The research will be done at Hyderabad city only.

Sampling Plan:-

Target Population

: - Target population for this research would be children with age of 8-15 and their parents.

Sample Unit

: - Sample unit for this research would be children with age of 8-15 and their parents of a selected area.

Sampling Technique

: - Stratified Random Sampling

Sample Size

: - 100 (50 children and 50 parents)

Sampling Methods: There are mainly two of sampling methods which are being used by the marketers: 1. Probability Sampling (Random Sampling) 2. Non probability Sampling Probability sampling is a method for drawing a sample from a population such that all possible samples have a known and specified probability of being drawn.
3|Page

Non probability sampling is a sampling procedure in which the selection of population elements is based in part on the judgment of the researcher or field interviewer. The sampling method for this report would be probability sampling because here each sample has equal chance of being selected and again it would be stratified random sampling

Data Collection Method: There are mainly two types of data collection methods which are as follows: Primary Data

Primary Data is the one that is being collected by the researcher itself and is being collected for the first time. Researcher has collected this data with a specific purpose of studying the problem. Primary Data in the research process would be collected by filling up questionnaires from children and their parents.

Secondary Data

Secondary Data is the data that already exists and in ready to use format and gathered by somebody else. This data can be in the form of articles in magazines, journals, government reports or any other historical data. It might even be the different articles in newspaper and on the internet blogs. Secondary Data that would be used by researcher in the research process as supportive documents are from the various newspaper articles, magazines related to specific industry, books in the specific field of advertising and various different internet sites. Instrument:The instrument selected for the primary data is structured questionnaire. Expected contribution of the study The research or study will help to understand how children are influenced by the advertisements. Beneficiaries Beneficiaries of this research would be researchers, students & the company with confectionary products.

4|Page

1.4 Scope of Study


For every child the development of self-esteem begins at the moment, when the children start seeking independence. Positive feed back from advertisers at this stage may help a child to make decision to consume a thing. As parents have strong emotional bonds with children and feel more responsible to provide them which they wanting. So child or children as consumer is an influence able decision maker. Today, everywhere we go we see some type of advertising. A sale at the supermarket or a billboard for a radio station, are two of the many forms of advertisement. Currently, advertisements that target children are very controversial. Marketers choose children because they can easily lure them in. Advertisers spent $105.97 billion in 1980. This number more than doubled in 2001 when it reached $230 billion (Laws, 2003). In the year 2000, the Census reported 105 million households in America, meaning advertisers spend an average of $2,190 on one household per year. Advertisers spend this much money because of television. The average child sees an estimate of more than 20,000 commercials every year - that works out to at least 55 commercials per day (Laws, 2009). Children will insist their parents purchase what they see or hear on television. In the 1960's, children had an influence on about $5 billion of their parents purchases. That figure increased to $50 billion in 1984 and tripled to $188 billion in 1997. James McNeal, a kids marketing expert, estimates children twelve and under will influence $500 billion of family purchases by the year 2010 (Laws, 2011). Children don't just have their parents buy their toys, but they make purchases of their own. Children's spending has roughly doubled every ten years for the past three decades, and has tripled in the 1990's. Kids ages 4 to 12 spent $2.2 billion in 1968 and $4.2 billion in 1984. By 1994, the figure climbed to $17.1 billion and by 2006, their spending exceeded $40 billion. Kids direct buying power is expected to exceed $51.8 billion by 2011 (Laws, 2012). No matter how you look at it, advertisers choose children because they are the most easily influenced and will spend their money if they find something interesting. The use of this study paper in future is to advice the other agency, department and clients on how best to target an advertise to effectively reach a specific audience or viewer.

5|Page

1.5 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. As I am conducting the survey in the Hyderabad city and observing the students aging between 8 years to 15 years, time has always worked as a limitation to the 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.

3. Geographic Limitations As we all know that Hyderabad is becoming a mega city. It covers big number of people living in the area. There are many malls where children come with their parents. Also the weather of Hyderabad city is very hot and hence it is impractical to work for more than 3 to 4 hours a day in field.

6|Page

Chapter 2
Advertising Industry 2.1 What is Advertising?
Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade its viewers, readers or listeners to take some action. It usually includes the name of a product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer, to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume that particular brand. Modern advertising developed with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through branding, which involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate related qualities with the brand in the minds of consumers. Different types of media can be used to deliver these messages, including traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor or direct mail. Advertising may be placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization. Organizations that spend money on advertising promoting items other than a consumer product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Nonprofit organizations may rely on free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement.

7|Page

2.2 History
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 equipment 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.

8|Page

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. England followed suit with the development of the BBC. However in the United States, the capitalist model prevailed with the passage of the 1934 Communications Act which created the Federal Communications Commission. To placate the socialists, the U.S. Congress did require that commercial broadcasters operate in the "public interest, convenience, and necessity". However public radio certainly exists in the United States. In the early 1950s, the Dumont television network began the modern trend of selling advertisement time to multiple sponsors. Dumont had trouble finding sponsors for many of their programs and compensated by selling smaller blocks of advertising time to several businesses. This eventually became the norm for the commercial television industry in the United States. However, it was still a common practice to have single sponsor shows, such as the U.S. Steel Hour. In some instances the sponsors exercised great control over the content of the show - up to and including having one's advertising agency actually writing the show. The single sponsor model is much less prevalent now, a notable exception being the Hallmark Hall of Fame. The 1960s saw advertising transform into a modern approach in which creativity was allowed to shine, producing unexpected messages that made advertisements more tempting to consumers' eyes. The Volkswagen ad campaignfeaturing such headlines as "Think Small" and "Lemon" ushered in the era of modern advertising by promoting a "position" or "unique selling proposition" designed to associate each brand with a specific idea in the reader or viewer's mind. This period of American advertising is called the Creative Revolution and its archetype was William Bernbach who helped create the revolutionary Volkswagen ads among others. Some of the most creative and long-standing American advertising dates to this period.
9|Page

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of cable television and particularly MTV. Pioneering the concept of the music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising. As cable and satellite television became increasingly prevalent, specialty channels emerged, including channels entirely devoted to advertising, such as QVC, Home Shopping Network, and Shop TV Canada.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 lowerabout 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

10 | P a g e

2.3 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. Women in many cultures make the majority of consumption decisions; hence they are important target of these advertisers. So the advertisers find it easier to sell the product by using the same gender. But most of these ads hardly need women as models. For example, there is no need to ask females to do an ad for a mens shaving cream. The list is uncountable. Most of the companies want to attract the consumers by using the physical look of the models. They have created a world of fantasy. And we are drawn towards that world without realizing much about the realities of life. We try to imitate whatever is shown on the Television. The media must play the role of a watchdog in such a situation.

11 | P a g e

2.4 The Role of Advertising:


Advertising is the means by which goods or services are promoted to the public. The advertisers goal is to increase sales of these goods or services by drawing peoples 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. One objective can be to inform customers about new product or a price change. 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. The fundamental purpose of advertising is to influence people to purchase various goods and products. In this sense advertising is a phenomenon that aims to persuade or influence people.

What is the role of advertising in the demand function? One response of this question is that a company can sell more of its product by informing consumers about the product. The information may include its existence, price, promotion, quality, etc. Therefore advertising is seen as providing information to consumers. The other response is that advertising searches the way of persuading consumers to purchase the advertised products by appeals to snobbery,
12 | P a g e

associations of the product with favored people or situations, repetition of the same message and so on. Advertising shows the last style and the new popular products in the market. It displays ideal individuals wearing the new clothes and looking good. Customers are jealous of this perfection. So that, they go out and purchase in hopes of reaching perfection. There is a time dimension at advertising. Advertisements influence on sales is immediate (i.e. it is mostly felt within seven days of an advertisements exposure). A repetition of such effects, measured at the end of a year, amounts to a medium-term influence. The immediate influence of advertising on sales plays a gatekeeper role to all further effects. Without it there will not be medium term effect (i.e. a repetition of short-term effects); and long-term effect. Advertisements full effect can be only valued if its long-term influence is taken into account as well as its short and medium-term effects on sales. These terms make it possible to evaluate the productivity of an advertising campaign; to measure if the campaign shows a financial return on the investment and is thus accountable According to Doole & Lowe (2010), advertising is the most important part of the whole marketing strategy. There are many channels of media to use for advertising, for example television, printed media, radio, cinema, outdoor and transport poster. Marketers use television as the most powerful medium of communication.

13 | P a g e

Chapter 3
Indian Advertisement Industry 3.1 Introduction
The Indian advertising industry is talking business today. It has evolved from being a small-scale business to a full-fledged industry. It has emerged as one of the major industries and tertiary sectors and has broadened its horizons be it the creative aspect, the capital employed or the number of personnel involved. Indian advertising industry in very little time has carved a niche for itself and placed itself on the global map. Indian advertising industry with an estimated value of 13, 200-crore has set eyeballs gazing with some astonishing pieces of work that it has given in the recent past. The creative minds that the Indian advertising industry incorporates have come up with some mind-boggling concepts and work that can be termed as masterpieces in the field of advertising. Advertising agencies in the country too have taken a leap. They have come a long way from being small and medium sized industries to becoming well known brands in the business. Mudra, Ogilvy and Mather (O&M), Mccann Ericsonn, Rediffussion, Leo Burnett are some of the top agencies of the country. Indian economy is on a boom and the market is on a continuous trail of expansion. With the market gaining grounds Indian advertising has every reason to celebrate. Businesses are looking up to advertising as a tool to cash in on lucrative business opportunities. Growth in business has lead to a consecutive boom in the advertising industry as well.The Indian advertising today handles both national and international projects. This is primarily because of the reason that the industry offers a host of functions to its clients that include everything from start to finish that include client servicing, media planning, media buying, creative conceptualization, pre and post campaign analysis, market research, marketing, branding, and public relation services.

14 | P a g e

Keeping in mind the current pace at which the Indian advertising industry is moving the industry is expected to witness a major boom in the times ahead. If the experts are to be believed then the industry in the coming times will form a major contribution to the GDP. With all this there is definitely no looking back for the Indian advertising industry that is all set to win accolades from the world over. With development in the technology, various avenues are opening up in advertising industry. It is estimated that about 2.2 billion dollars are generated in this industry every year. Be it is print, radio, television or Internet, every medium plays a significant role in the growth of this industry. Today, Advertising Industry in India is surging with revenues. To meet all the demands in adverting sector, many agencies are coming to the scene. India is a hub of creativity and this is evident from the fact that more and more people from Indian advertising industry are being accepted world over and imposing a lot of respect in international advertising community. Visibility is the mantra of success these days and advertising makes sure that your product, service is visible; thus saleable. Today Advertising Industry in India is booming with revenue. It is a very successful industry which generates lot of revenue. The Advertising Industry in India is getting recognized worldwide with its superior quality work and innovation. It ensures tremendous growth and scope for the employees. During fiscal 2009, the gross advertising spend in India is estimated at Rs 111 billion, and is expected to grow at 14.2% to reach Rs. 127 billion by fiscal 2012. The key factors which have contributed to growth of the Indian advertising industry include: - Growth in media vehicles leading to increase in media infiltration. - Higher degree of competitive concentration among consumer companies - Entry of global consumer companies with large advertising budgets - Increase in consumer riches.

15 | P a g e

Rapid economic growth of the country on the back of economic liberalization and deregulation. Indian advertising industry is fast catching up with their western counterparts. The change has been a slow and steady one, but if you look at the advertisements on Indian television nowadays, youll be vastly surprised. There were times, when it was believed that sex sells anything and everything. Then came the era of glamour and celebrities. Film stars and cricketers were roped it to sell soft-drinks to massage oils. Ads were made for cycles and pens. The list is endless. Now, the times have changed. Humor, industry experts say, sells the best. People remember jokes, the humor involved, and it becomes easier to make an impact on the customer. The Indian consumer no longer falls into an uneducated, easy to please.

16 | P a g e

Chapter 4
KIDS & ADVERTISEMENT

4.1 Introduction
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 childrens 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.

Scope and Form


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. There is no universal definition of a child (although UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, defines early childhood as ages 0 8 years). Children are otherwise defined according to national jurisdictions. For the purposes of advertising law, the definition of a child varies from one jurisdiction to another. However, 12 is commonly used as a cut-off point, on the basis of the widespread academic view that by the age of 12 children have developed their behavior as consumers, effectively recognize advertising and are able to adopt critical attitudes towards it. There is no global data on ad spending directed at children, only data for specific sectors. According to the Federal Trade Commission, food and beverage companies (44 companies reporting to the FTC) in the US spent approximately $1.6 billion in 2006 to promote their products/services to children.

17 | P a g e

4.2 Advertising standards


In many countries worldwide, advertising is also governed by self-regulatory codes of conduct. Advertisers, advertising agencies and the media agree on a code of advertising standards a set of ethical and behavioral rules they commit to respecting which is enforced by a Self Regulatory Organisation, often an independent industry-funded body, responsible for drafting, amending and enforcing the code. Self-Regulatory Organizations for advertising are increasingly following the best practice model agreed with regulators and consumer and public health groups in Europe. At a minimum, the general aim of self-regulatory codes is to ensure that any advertising is 'legal, decent, honest and truthful', but in most countries detailed rules are in place for different advertising techniques and sectors. Advertising self-regulation is built on different levels. On a global level, the International Chamber of Commerce has drafted a global code on marketing communications. All forms of marketing communications worldwide must conform to the ICC Consolidated Code on Advertising and Marketing. The code includes a specific section, detailing the special care needed when communicating with children. Since 2006, a global code of practice on food marketing communications is also in place. The Framework for Responsible Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverage Marketing Communications of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) sets down global requirements for food and beverage marketing communications on all media, including the internet Key provisions include: the need for substantiation for claims or health benefits; no encouragement of excess consumption; no representation of snacks as meals; no undermining of healthy lifestyle messages; no undermining of the role of parents. These codes provide a minimum requirement for marketing communications worldwide. National self-regulatory codes, based on the ICC codes, are established, policed and enforced by local Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) and industry in over 100 countries and apply to a range of media, increasingly also including digital marketing communications. The ICC and national codes are reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain relevant to local, cultural and consumer concerns and that they promote best practice. The ICC Framework is applicable

18 | P a g e

globally but is a minimum standard designed to be adapted and transposed into SR codes at national level. Many countries have implemented SR provisions that use the ICC Framework as a basis, but go further in several respects, depending on local considerations. Examples include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the UK and the USA. In addition to industry-wide self-regulation, individual companies and industry sectors have introduced a wide range of additional provisions relating to marketing communications directed at children. For example, most multinational food and beverage companies have developed their own policies on food and beverage marketing communications to children and, most recently, have announced the joint implementation of these individual commitments. In July 2007, 10 of these companies (now 13) announced a common pledge in the US the Childrens Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, mirroring a similar initiative by 15 companies in Canada the Canadian Childrens Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative; and followed by 11 companies in Europe with the EU Pledge. Under these initiatives, participating companies will cease advertising to children under 12, other than products that meet specific nutritional guidelines, based on international scientific recommendations. A similar Pledge programme was launched by leading food companied in Thailand in May 2010 and in Australia in mid-2011.

19 | P a g e

4.3 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 literacy is increasingly recognized by governments and international organizations such as the European Union and the World Health Organisation as a key tool to help children understand and deal with todays complex media environment. 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. Media Smart materials use real examples of advertising to teach core media literacy skills. Media Smart is funded by the advertising business in the UK and is supported by the UK government and EU institutions. Since 2002, Media smart has been launched in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Portugal and Hungary. Is it fair to advertise to children unless they fully understand the intent of the advertisers? If young children do not understand that intent, then when do they develop that ability? Is television an effective way to market products to children? Are the products (such as food and toys) typically aimed at children, the type of products that children should be encouraged to buy? Are children encouraged to buy or try unsuitable products (such as alcohol or tobacco) from viewing advertisements even when those advertisements are not aimed at them? Does advertising encourage a more materialistic attitude in children? Or is it appropriate that children learn to be effective consumers from an early age? Does encouraging children to buy products lead them to pester their parents and cause family disputes? Does television advertising present an accurate or misleading image of the world to children? Should advertising aimed at children be regulated? If so, how strict should that regulation be and, in a global market place, should regulators draw up common guidelines across different

20 | P a g e

countries and cultures? Should we educate children about advertising, and if so, who should take on the role of educator? These are the questions that require to have a proper look at. Children aging around 15 in India are having spending power. It is from their own allowances and earnings. Almost 30 percentage of Indian population belongs to this age group, and called to be the future of India. But the fact is that out of every rupee the government spent, only five paisa went to child related programmes. In Bihar, spending on per meal per child is about 15 paisa. Now can anyone explain that what kind of nutritious food can be supplied at that rate? When we talk of the Indian economy it is vastly segmented in different age groups with different spending powers. Most of the Indian people live under the poverty line. But the others are having a huge spending power with large amount of selection in the product basket. The children from these segments are being targeted by the companies to generate the sales. The market for selling products to children is potentially immense, and it is not surprising that in those countries that have established traditions of advertising, much of that advertising is aimed at children, often via television and other media.

21 | P a g e

4.4 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 childrens 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). Childrens 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
22 | P a g e

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). According to (Resnik, Stern and Alberty, 1979), television advertising 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. As many authors states, there are many television advertisements based on children and it is faced that children urge their parents to purchase what they want without needing. For a whole generation of new age children, television is as influential as a parent or a teacher (Panwar, 2006). According to Wiman (1986), children who talk with their parents more frequently about TV advertising and commercials make more purchase requests. Children considered television to be one of lifes necessities. Studies commissioned by cable television networks in US A, found that an average of 43 per cent of total purchases made by parents were influenced by children (Cooper in Caruana, and Vassallo; 2006). Exposure to it was usually extensive before school, after school, during homework, at weekends, with or without friends (Hanley, 2004). Marketers understand this fact very well. With the growing influence of media on children, an increasingly large number of advertisements are today directed to them (Panwar, Agnihotri, 2009). Children, for example, who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, or those who have less access to their parents may not only spend more time with the media. But, may continue to rely more heavily on TV advertising for the information that they seek in various areas (Brown, Childers, Bauman and Koch in Evra; 1995). Parents create direct opportunities by interacting with their children about purchase requests, giving them pocket money and taking them to shopping excursions (Ward, Wackman, and Wartella; 1977). Children spend a large amount of time watching television. They pay more attention to commercials broadcast during childrens programming. Commercials broadcast during childrens programming are designed to capture the younger childs attention by the use of cartoon characters, music, subject ive camera angles and editing (Stern & Harmon, 1986).

23 | P a g e

According to The Guardian newspaper, McDonalds, and Coca Cola spent respectively 34,6 million USD and 16,2 million USD for television advertisement presented for children. In this situation, firms do not hesitate to spend their money for the related advertisements. Therefore nowadays the expenditure of these advertisements has been increased dramatically such as McDonalds and Coca Cola as well as Disney. They are the best known brand in the world. It can be drawn conclusion from here that the role of children as consumer on the worlds economy has rapidly increased. The common features of the above mentioned brands are easily to find and focus on children and family in their advertisements.

According to McNeal (1992) American children spent over USD 132 billion on 62 product categories of products were influenced by children. The number of commercials per hour on American television increased significantly towards the end of the decade. They provide a strong indication that American children are today exposed to more than 25 000 commercials per year via television (Kunkel & Roberts 1991). In 1997, $1,3 billion was spent on television advertisements directed at children. Counting all media, advertising and marketing budgets aimed at children approached $12 billion (McNeal, 1999). It is estimated that children may view as many as 40,000 commercials each year (Strasburger, 2005). In one of the research project about the influence of television advertising on children and teenagers, Hanley (2003) found that the younger children (aged 911) were very vague in their recall of current television advertising. The examples they came up with were often unbranded, with the recall attached to the story. or characters instead, e.g. Honey Monster (Sugar Puffs), cartoon elephant (Charmin toilet roll). Older children (aged 1216) recalled advertising they enjoyed or disliked. The appeal often related to the storyline., characters featured or the product. For instance, the y mentioned Rolo (elephant never forgets), as well as KitKat, Argos (toys), and McDonald.s. They identified three main ways in which television advertising seemed to influence children: pester power; Many parents felt that advertising had the power to make a significant impression on their children. Those featuring children, cartoon characters, animals, catchy. tunes and phrases, colour, dynamic special effects, aspiration celebrity heroes, humor and childrens products (e.g. confectionery, cereals and toys) were most likely to be referred to: www.itc.org.uk Generally advertisers use interesting characters in their advertisement to catch childrens attention.

24 | P a g e

Sometimes these characters are not real. For example Corn Flakes, Nesquick advertisements and etc (Hanley, 2000). It was very common for the advertiser to show ads in which the child would acquire superhuman strength by eating a specific breakfast cereal, or would leave a group of friends in choking clouds of dust by running with the sponsored sneakers. Toys ads of that time were sponsored by unknown brands, which would generally end up becoming famous after making deals with the television station (Alexander et al; 1998). Childrens ages are also significant to understand the advertisements. Childrens comprehension of television advertising and its persuasive intent increases with age, because of greater cognitive maturity and increased experience with the medium. Even a majority of 5-8 years old have only a low awareness of what a commercial really is; and although three quarters of 9-12 year old children may demonstrate a medium level of awareness (eg. commercials tell you what to buy) (Ward & Wackman in Evra; 1995). However it is possible to say that even though they are very young to understand, the most important thing is the advertisements impact on children. De Bens and Vandenbruaene (1997 pg 27) conveys that childrens attention is affected depending on whether they are watching TV alone, with their parents or with other children of the same age. Children.s attention depends on whether they are playing, eating or occupied with something else while watching TV. Generally it is assumed that these factors contribute to reducing childrens attention to TV advertising (De Bens and Vandenbruaene, 1997).

In less developed countries the trend appears to follow the same pattern as in the developed world, although the market size may be comparatively small. Increasingly, children have become not passive observers, but active participants in the family purchase decisions. Not only do children have their own money to spend on a variety of products and services of their choice, they also have extensive influence on how their parents buy products and services (Wimalasiri, 2009).

25 | P a g e

If children saw something new in a television advertisement or in a magazine that they liked they were likely to buy it. This is in line with Buijzen and Valkenburg.s (2008) findings that advertising is positively and directly related to childrens purchase requests. McGee in Beder (1998, pg 100) says children under aged 12 spend more than $11 billion of their own money and influence family spending decisions worth another $165 billion on food, household items like furniture, electrical appliances and computers, vacations, the family car and other spending. For example, one study estimated that children influenced $9 billion worth of car sales in 1994. One car dealer explains: "Sometimes, the child literally is our customer. I have watched the child pick out the car."(Stanley in Beder, 1998, pg 102) Advertising offers consumer ideas and information, which we process and evaluate in order to make rational choices. Brown (2009) defends advertising to children on just such cognitive grounds: Children are young consumers, interested in making choices and needing information about them.

26 | P a g e

4.5 TV Advertising & Children in India


More than half of television viewers in India today are children of below 15 years. And yet there is hardly any sensitivity about the relevance and impact of what is dished out by various television channels. All of them are operating in a competitive mode for one upmanship in the race for viewership. In this order channels are concerned more about what interests or attracts rather than what is in the interest of children. Neither the Government nor the parents or the teachers seems to be concerned about this situation. For, the generation next and the civil society of the country is shaped and molded by what they are exposed to today on the idiot -box day in and day out. Research studies over the years world over; have brought out various types of negative impact of intense viewing of television by children. The direct influence of TV viewing on the extent of violence and deviant behavior pattern of children has been reiterated even in India. In fact, there are a couple of confessions by adolescents, even a biography, as to how they picked up ideas about a rape or robbery or revenge or killing or suicide or kidnap, etc from one or other TV programme. Even some court judgments have commented on such effect of TV

programmes. That TV has a double-edged effect and that it is the negative character which impacts more than positive potential often is known. But what is not realized is that there are no serious efforts to explore positive virtues of TV and that parents who should be more concerned about such a phenomena hardly do anything about it. In fact, studies have brought out, for example, that in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, parents enjoy the same fare of TV along with their children and as keenly; where as in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, parents try to restrain their children in favor of some discriminative viewing. Teachers and social activists in a couple of places have been occasionally demonstrating about the influence of television contents. Political parties too do not seem to be concerned to do something about. BJP, however, had referred to this adverse trend in its election manifesto a few years ago. But did nothing on coming to power.Even the code for advertising, although

outdated and inadequate, is conscious of implications to ch ildren of certain broadcasts and realizes the scope for misuse. For example, under the code no advertisements should be accepted which lures children to believe that if they do not own or use the product advertised
27 | P a g e

they will be inferior to other children or that they are liable to ridicule for not owning or using a particular brand. However, in reality there is neither strict monitoring of the advertisements nor a rigid follow-up despite that many ads on television fall under this category. And most of these childrens channels have become marketing outlets for brands altogether to India. Against this background and in this context there are certain recent trends on the Indian TV scene, which need to be taken note. More and more channels are going for childrens programmes. In fact, more channels are coming in describing themselves as childrens channel or positioning themselves as such. Most of these are beamed into the country as if no one in the country, the Government the least, is concerned about such a trend. What is not taken note is that: (a) Most of these childrens channels and programmes are of foreign origin or remake of them and are reruns over the years, (b) They do not have anything to do with enrichment or supplementary scope for school education or imparting moral standards (there are of course some good pre-school programmes); (c) Some of these foreign channels are now entering their second phase in the country taking to marketing of toys and tools for children promoted in these serials. And, worse, as a result of all this, there has been a decline recently in the extent of locally originated programmes for children even in Indian channels. To complicate the matter further these foreign programmes for children are now being dubbed into Indian languages. There are international lobbies operating aggressively to thrust upon animation serials for children on countries like India. That is how today cartoons have become synonymous for Childrens TV. Most of these serials are produced after so much research. But not for ensuring educational or general knowledge aspects but for capturing and retaining eyeballs of children again and again and to see their serials have certain dope-effect on children. This recent launch of DTH services in a competitive mode brings out the urgency for Government take a view of this proliferation of uninhibited foreign fare for children and doing something about it so that television is also used with more concern and for positive ends.

28 | P a g e

The least the Government should do is to prescribe that every channel being down linked must have certain percent of locally produced and originating programmes for children. In fact, in the case of children channels, this percentage of locally originated programmes has to be higher. Canada and European Union countries have one or other provisions in this regard. If France has prescribed 30 percent of contents of channels should be locally originated, India should go for a higher percentage, not less. India has a rich tradition of enriching children with folk tales and grandma tales and imparting values and imparting discipline and moral values in an entertaining format. When some of us advocated and argued a couple of decades ago for expansion of TV network in the country and for going for color television, one hope was that childrens fare will get some priority and all that treasure of India gets a chance to figure. But what is happening now is contrary. The exceptions are only a few. For, there is a decline in the extent of childrens participation even in national channels. The best specific examples of course are Malguidi Days, Panchatantra, Tenaliraman and the like. Realizing these strengths of Indian tradition, some foreign producers are scouting in India to capture talent for television, particularly in animation format. But what about our own initiatives? We do not seem to learn from our experiences. All India Radio in the earlier years has set good examples for childrens programmes, which were enriching as well as entertaining and supplementary to school education. In fact, the format of those AIR programmes was such that they were participatory and empowering confidence and courage building in children and respect for elders and environment. Today most imported childrens programmes are all out to promote materialism, selfishness, consumerism and at any cost approach to life.

Realizing the significance of media in the context of children, a few years ago UN has prescribed annual day for mass media when children are supposed to be the producers of media contents. It is a good symbolic initiative. But it should be followed up by some support to promote creative TV software for children of 6 12 age groups, in particular. For, there is UN Convention on Rights of Child with a set of standards to promote well being of children. Unfortunately, there is no public trust or foundation of civil society in India for this purpose.

29 | P a g e

Even Public Service Broadcasting Trust, which is a good initiative otherwise, is yet to be concerned about childrens interests. It is most unfortunate that neither of the plethoras of Government agencies claiming concern for children has taken note of this vacuum. Not even the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. All this despite ample creative talents across the country to produce more It is

positive, pro-active and relevant software for children than what is available now.

unfortunate that the Government has neither taken pro-active or re-active initiatives in this regard. While we have a Childrens Film Society to promote films for children and a Childrens Book Trust, we have none for television despite the number of children who see television is several times more and, even more critically, the frequency of their viewing television is more than a couple of hours a day.

30 | P a g e

4.6 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 childrens 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 Kelloggs 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 childrens 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 Piagets insight that young children are especially focused on the attentiongetting perceptual qualities of presentations. Childrens 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 childrens 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 childrens 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 childrens 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. Advertisers use catchy auditory
31 | P a g e

features, such as jingles, repetitively in commercials to reach child audiences. Song lyrics and rhymes can replay in childrens 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 childrens, even older childrens, 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 childrens requests for, and purchases of, specific food, beverage, and toy products. One study, for example, measured three- to eleven-year-old childrens 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. Premiumsbonus toys and treats that accompany the productalso increase childrens product requests. For instance, Charles Aitkin found that 81 percent of mothers thought that premiums influenced their childrens 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.

32 | P a g e

Advertising Using Kids / Children

Children Influence Stimulated By Advertising

Reinforcement

Idea Generator

Price Influence

Experience Influence

Taste Influence

Consumption Process Consumption

Initiation

General Decision

Choice Decision

Purchase Act Experience Formation

Health Influence

Information Collector

Convenienc e Influence

Purchase Act Influence

Purchase Decision Based on Childs / Children Influence + Personal Discretion + Societal Influence

Reinforcement

33 | P a g e

4.7 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 kids products. Of late, marketers are trying to influence the kids directly through various promos

34 | P a g e

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.

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 contest was aired on the television channels everyday. With every pack of Britania treat, one part of the map was given (fortress of Evil). The kids had to collect the dinogems. By the end of contest, the dinogems which was the power source of 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

35 | P a g e

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.

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.

36 | P a g e

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. Many more such contests have been conducted by marketers like Funskool which conducted the Little Pet Shop Coloring Contest, Cadbury with the Bournvita quiz contest, ITCs Classmate notebooks young authors contest and so on.

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.

37 | P a g e

4.8 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. 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,
38 | P a g e

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 its 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. With a balanced approach, the negative effects of advertising can surely be curbed to a great extent. The ad filmmakers are formulating fresh ways of enticing the consumers to buy their products. If an advertisement for a product attracts the consumers, they tend to purchase it frequently, or at least buy it once. If a company has to survive in this competitive world, he/she has to project the image of its products in such a way that they pick up the maximum sales, when they hit the stores. The best way to persuade the consumer to stick to the product of the particular brand, when numerous choices are provided to him/her in the market, is attractive advertisement. However, the ad filmmakers should remember that the commercials can also have negative IMPACT on people, especially the young children. In this article, we have presented some of the most visible effects of advertising on children, positive as well as negative. 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
39 | P a g e

information. Hence, children in the age category 8-10 years have a positive attitude towards 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 persuasive 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. 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.

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.

40 | P a g e

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.

41 | P a g e

Chapter 5
Rules & Regulations of advertising to children 5.1 Rules and Regulations of Advertising to Children in India
Like Canada, The UK, and other countries featured in this series, in India there are specific rules and legislation concerning advertising and children. However, children in India seem to be particularly vulnerable to the infringement of these regulations, which is unfortunately a common occurrence.

Television
The Cable Act provides guidelines for programmes and advertisements on television. All programmes must adhere to the codes before being transmitted. The codes of the Cable Act include the following provisions relating to children:

Programmes on cable television should not denigrate children. Programmes meant for children should not contain any bad language or explicit scenes of violence. Programmes for adults should normally be aired after 11 pm and before 6 am Programmes unsuitable for children must not be shown at times when the largest numbers of children are viewing. Unhealthy practices showing children begging or acting in an undignified or indecent way are prohibited.

A first offence for contravening the Cable Act is punishable with up to two years imprisonment or with a fine of up to 1000 rupees (12) or both. For subsequent offences, the punishment is prison for up to five years and a fine of up to 5000 rupees (about 60).

Books and magazines


Publications that are deemed harmful to children in India are regulated by the Young Act. Harmful publications are defined as books, magazines, pamphlets, leaflets wherein stories
42 | P a g e

are told portraying criminal offences, acts of violence or cruelty, incidents of repulsive or horrible nature, in such a way that the publication as a whole tends to corrupt a child into whose hands it might fall, whether by inciting or encouraging the child to commit offences or acts of violence or cruelty or in any other manner. The Young Act details penalties for the sale, hire, distribution, public exhibition, circulation, printing, production or possession of harmful publications. Advertising a harmful publication is punishable by up to six months imprisonment, with or without a fine. The court can also order destruction of the offending publication.

Shaktiman
The childrens television series Shaktiman has been a cause of controversy in India for several years. Children across the country have attempted to emulate their hero, Shaktiman, with tragic consequences. Since 1998 there have been several accidents and fatalities as children have risked their lives believing that Shaktiman will be there. There have been several court cases to stop save them, or that they can assume his powers broadcast of the programme, but as litigation in India often takes place over several years, most of the cases are still pending. However, the legal process has resulted in a caution notice being displayed at the beginning of the programme, aimed at children and parents, highlighting that Shaktiman is a fictional character and his actions should not be imitated. Unfortunately the law does not seem to have solved the problem. On 23 June 2004 a nine-year-old school girl in Kolkata accidentally hung herself by attempting to twirl in the air like the superhero.

Advertisements
There are no specific guidelines about acceptable advertisements aimed at children in India. However, if there is a complaint about an ad it may be withdrawn after consideration by the Advertising Standards Council. For example, an advertisement for a childs drink was withdrawn as it featured six children at the top of their class at school, implying the drink had given them exam success. There is also no law in India which lays down guidelines for the use of child models in advertisements. Whether children should work in this way is a matter of current debate, but there has been no legislation passed as yet. However, there are some strict laws relating to advertising and children. Selling, hiring, distributing, exhibiting or circulating an
43 | P a g e

obscene object to a person under the age of 20 years is punishable with imprisonment for a term of up to three years or fine of up to 2000 rupees (26) or both. Subsequent offences are punishable with an imprisonment of up to four years and a fine of up to 5000 rupees (60).

Internet
Regulation on the internet in India is strict. The IT Act penalizes publication and transmission of material which is obscene, lascivious or appeals to prurient interest. The Act can be invoked for such material on the ground that it has the propensity to corrupt the minds of children.

Film
The Board of Film Certification grants appropriate viewing ratings for films. If a film is suitable for all and subject to no restrictions it will be given a U certificate. A UA certificate is granted for films where children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult in the cinema. A film that is not suitable for under-18s is given an A certificate. The granting or refusal of film certificates is published in the Gazette of India (an official government publication that discloses changes in the law or the introduction of new regulations). The certification once granted is valid for a period of 10 years.

Infant milk substitutes


The Indian government is committed to promoting and protecting breastfeeding. The parliament passed the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act in 1992. This act prohibits the promotion of infant foods, infant milk substitutes and feeding bottles. This is to ensure that no impression is given that feeding of these products is equivalent to, or better than, breastfeeding. Violations of the act result in imprisonment for up to three years and/ or a fine of up to 5000 rupees.

Cigarettes and alcohol


In India there are central government guidelines on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol, but each state has a different age limit for the consumption of alcohol and tobacco for example, you must be over 25 years of age to buy alcohol in New Delhi. Most shops that sells cigarettes and alcohol display a sign showing the age restrictions in that state.

Advertising in schools
There are no bars on advertising in schools in India. In fact, Coca-Cola and Pepsi offer several sponsorships to schools, particularly for sporting activities. Legal Implications:
44 | P a g e

In India, there are no specific advertising laws that relate to children and food-related advertisements in particular. A host of laws and Acts like the 'Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995' and the 'Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Food Act' deal with children-related advertising in a vague way. Not only are there advertisements that are targeted at children but a host of them that feature young children, even babies. In most parts of the world, there are few or no specific rules concerning food advertising to children beyond the rules which must apply to all advertising. In India, even general rules pertaining to advertising are very lax. Also, there are no regulatory bodies that monitor TV advertisements. Apart from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that decides to intervene when it wants to, there are only voluntary groups like the 'Advertising Agencies Association of India', and the 'Advertising Standards Council of India', both of which are business organizations and can only put moral pressure on advertisers and companies to withdraw objectionable advertisements. There is urgent need for voluntary and government pressure groups to seriously take note of the situation. The government needs to draft and implement laws that do not deal with advertising in general but are specific and relate to every aspect of advertising, especially those that target young children and pertain to food. In other parts of the world, there exist voluntary groups like the 'Adbusters' and 'Mothers groups' that watch and pressure governments to clamp down on aggressive and intrusive advertising. At present there are various laws implemented by government under various ministries. The various laws are as follows: A. Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (Ministry of Health) The act lays down specifications for various food products. It is mandatory. B. Agriculture Produce (Grading & Marking) Act (Ministry of Rural Development) This Act is commonly known as AGMARK. The Act lays down the specifications for various agricultural commodities including some processed foods. C. Laws being operated by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) BIS is the standard body for formulating standards for various food items. These standards are also voluntary. D. Essential Commodities Act 1. Harmonization of Food Laws:
45 | P a g e

It is very essential to have one unified and logical law for food regulation than having numerous laws for the same. Following action is being taken by various ministries at present: The paper brought out by The Ministry of Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, it is recommended for BIS to formulate standards for all food items in India, which is a good step towards harmonization. Part IV Advertising & Society International Marketing Conference on Marketing & Society, 8-10 April, 2007, IIMK 310

As per the task force set up by Prime minister under the chairmanship of Shri Nulsi Wadia, a suggestion has been made to set up a Food Regulation Authority (FRA) to formulate and update food standards for domestic and export market. Also, Harmonization of Indian standard with quality norms of Codex and WTO. Hence it is important that unified law is developed as early as possible.

Education and parental involvement

Parental involvement in determining desirable programming is the best choice. Parents have to monitor and control their childrens viewing habits. Studies show that parents play an important role in their childrens social learning, but if a parents views are not discussed explicitly with children, the medium may teach and influence by default. Other media, such as magazines, radio, video games and the Internet, also have the potential to influence childrens eating habits, exercise habits, buying habits and mental health. If children are allowed to be exposed to these media without adult supervision, they may have the same deleterious effects as television. People should be more aware to what kind of advertisement are shown to the children & when some company say that the product have nutritional value and stuff, it should be verified from the trusted source. Be an alert citizen is the message. Parents should be educated with respect to what should be healthy food as per proper nutritional intake for their children. Role of schools Schools can also play a very active role in making sure that students get healthy diet at its canteen. It is very important that schools do not stock junk food in their canteen, by getting lured
46 | P a g e

by approach of fast food and soft drink companies to stock their stuff. Since children spend most of their time in school, schools can imbibe on childrens mind what a healthy diet should consists of. Statutory Warning Since the intake of junk food & carbonated drinks causes numerous diseases such as obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), gall bladder ailments, cancer, psycho-social problems, breathlessness, sleep disorders, asthma, arthritis, weak bones and reproductive hormone abnormalities. So it should come with statutory warnings as in the case of junk food carbonated drinks & milk powder such as Intake of this food more than twice a week is not good for health. Advertisement Code Advertisement Code to be monitored by an organization which will take care of the following: Before any AD is aired on television, the most sought medium by children some code of conduct should be followed. Any food AD should be scrutinized with regards to the claims they are making & the food ingredients should meet some standards laid down by recognized organization like WHO. The stipulated time limit for advertisement is followed by the companies or not. TV Channels generally do not follow any rules regarding advertising air time. Doordarshan poses a limit on advertising time which is a maximum of 7.5 minutes of advertisements in a 30 minute programme. Private TV channels are free to air as many advertisements they like. This is primarily the reason why on some private channels, a 30-minute TV programme gets stretched to 45 minutes or even more. Broadcasting codes for AIR/ Doordarshan

Advertising Code: AIR and Doordarshan has responsibility to ensure that the advertisements shown either in terms of contents, tone or treatment, do not mislead the listeners and viewers as well as the consumers

47 | P a g e

are not repugnant to good taste. The earnings of commercial revenue are not the sole criteria of Part IV Advertising & Society International Marketing Conference on Marketing & Society, 8-10 April, 2007, IIMK 311 Prasar Bharti. Thus the code has stricter provisions and the main features of the code are as follows: Tobacco products including 'Pan Masala' and liquors are not permitted.

The goods and services advertised should be in consonance with the laws of the country enacted to protect the rights of the consumers.

The commercial should never project a derogatory image of women and should not endanger the safety of children.

Such code of conduct should be made compulsory to private channels also. Government has enacted The Commercial Advertisements on Electronic Media (Regulation) Bill, 2005 which lays down standards for advertisements on electronic media..

The government should indulge more into Social Advertising as its positive impact on kids & society is enormous. Laws related to Advertising should be made more stringent as in the case of foreign countries such as Europe & America.

48 | P a g e

5.2 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; Childrens programmes may only be interrupted if the scheduled duration is longer than 30 minutes Product placement is not allowed in childrens 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 childrens 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
49 | P a g e

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. In June 2006, the FSA called for laws to prevent such food from being advertised on television before 9pm. They also called for 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.
50 | P a g e

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 under16s 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-yearolds will continue to be phased out over the coming months, with a full ban coming into effect on 1 January 2009.

5.3 Regulation of Marketing Practice


Because of age-based limits in childrens 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, well 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 childrens 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 Childrens 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 Kelloggs Frosted Flakes or Chester the
51 | P a g e

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 Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998, which placed rules on online marketing techniques to protect the privacy of children under age thirteen. The new law, which went into effect in 2000, authorized the Federal Trade Commission to create and enforce rules for data collection practices at childrens websites and to disclose privacy policies about data collection techniques as well as about how that information was to be used.

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 users hard drive, collects information about that users 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
52 | P a g e

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.

53 | P a g e

5.4 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 companys 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. Comparative Advertising is legal and widely used in USA and Canada but is illegal in some countries such as Belgium and Korea. In Europe, the European commission has developed a directive to standardize the basic form and content of comparative advertising. Government restrictions can influence the use of foreign languages in advertising as well as the production of the ad. Most countries permit the use of foreign languages in print ads and direct mail. However, some do not allow foreign language
54 | P a g e

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.

5.5 Sociocultural 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 the intent of 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
55 | P a g e

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 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 isnt advertising... What nonsense. Of course, social advertising, public service advertising whether its 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. Its come a long way from the gaudy poster proclaiming the presence of Sunlight Soap. Its part of the social fabric of all our lives whic h, cosmetically, would be a good bit duller without it. More to the point, its 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 sectors commitment to truth and decency, issues surrounding reinforcing stereotypes and advertising to children. We will consider corporate social performance and finally stakeholder engagement.
56 | P a g e

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 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.
57 | P a g e

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 attitude towards 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 persuasive 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.

58 | P a g e

Chapter 6
6.1 Primary Data Analysis
Demographic Analysis

AGE:-

Age
8 yrs. 9 yrs. 10yrs. 11 yrs. 12 yrs. 13 yrs. 14 yrs. 15 yrs.

Students 7 15 20 20 23 43 18 4

18

4 7

8 yrs. 15

9 yrs. 10yrs. 20 11 yrs.


12 yrs.

43 20 23

13 yrs. 14 yrs. 15 yrs.

Analysis: The above chart shows that there are more number of 13 years student and as far as 15 years students are concerned they are very less.
59 | P a g e

Q1 How many hours a day do you watch TV?

less then 1 hour 1-2 hours 2-3 hours more then 3 hours

29 46 47 28

19%

19% less then 1 hour 1-2 hours

31%

31%

2-3 hours
more then 3 hours

Analysis: The above pie chart shows that as far as TV watching habit of children is concerned, there are 31% of children who watch television for 1-2 hours a day. There are also 31% children who watch television for 2-3 hrs. and 19% children who watch television for more than 3 hours a day This shows that most of the children like to watch television for 1-3 hours a day and this is because they might be busy with their home work and project work of their school.

60 | P a g e

Q2. What do you like to watch on TV?

Cartoons Reality Shows Movies Serials Song based programmes Others

97 28 78 23 31 13

97 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 78 31 13

28

23

Analysis: The above bar chat shows that there are more number of children who like to watch cartoons and movies on Television than reality shows, serials, song based programmes and other programmes like programmes which come on Discovery channel, National Geography channel and so on. In our survey we have found that there are 97 children who like to watch cartoons on television because they are more fascinated towards that. Apart from that, there are 78 children who like to watch movies on television which might be because of his/her favorite actor or actress.

61 | P a g e

Q3. From the following confectionary products which is your favorite product/s.

Biscuits Wafers Chocolates Sauces Noodles Health Drinks

86 57 78 29 38 42

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

86 57

78

38 29

42

Analysis: The above bar chart shows that as far as confectionary products are concerned, children like to have more Biscuits, Wafers and Chocolates than Sauces, Noodles and Health Drinks. In our survey we have found that Biscuits, Wafers and Chocolates are preferred by 86, 57 and 78 children respectively. This shows that children are attracted more towards Biscuits, Wafers and Chocolates than other confectionery products.

62 | P a g e

Q4. You are familiar with the advertisements of which of the confectionary products?

Biscuits Wafers Chocolates Sauces Noodles Health Drinks

79 59 61 29 36 53

79 80 70
60

59

61 53 36 29

50 40
30

20 10
0

Biscuits

Wafers

Chocolates

Sauces

Noodles

Health Drinks

Analysis: The above bar chart shows that children are more familiar with the advertisements of Biscuits, Wafers, Chocolates and Health Drinks than the advertisements of Sauces and Noodles. In our survey we have found that 79 children who are familiar with the advertisements of Biscuits. Children who are familiar with advertisements of the Wafers and Chocolates are 59 and 61 respectively. This is because, in majority of the advertisements of Biscuits, Chocolates and Wafers celebrity is shown wherein advertisements of other confectionary products generally me too model is shown, and children get easily attracted by that celebrity to purchase those products.

63 | P a g e

Q5. After watching ad. of any product, have you ever tried to purchase that product?

Yes No

92 58

39%

61% Yes No

Analysis: The above pie chart shows that after watching advertisement of products majority of the children have tried to purchase that product which they have shown in the advertisement. In our survey we have found that 61% children have tried to purchase products after watching advertisements of those products This shows that how children are influenced by the advertisements of confectionary products and this may affect to those families in which source of income is not that much strong.

64 | P a g e

Q6 Which confectionary product you have tried to purchase?

Biscuit Wafer Chocolate Sauce Noodle Health Drink

78 21 52 18 37 46

78 80 70 60
50

52
37

46

40 30 20 10
0

21

18

Biscuit

Wafer

Chocolate

Sauce

Noodle

Health Drink

Analysis: The above bar chart shows that after watching advertisements of confectionary products, children have tried to purchase more Biscuit, Chocolate and Health Drink than Wafer, Sauce and Noodle. In our survey we have found that there are 78 children who have tried to purchase Biscuit, 52 children who have tried to purchase Chocolate and 46 children who have tried to purchase Health Drink after watching advertisement of the same. This shows that children are influenced more by the advertisements of Biscuits, Chocolates and Health Drinks and there are some specific advertisements of Biscuits, Chocolates and Health Drinks in which children have mainly targeted.

65 | P a g e

Q7. Do you like to watch advertisements of product on which media?

TV Magazine Newspaper Hoardings

118 33 27 4

2% 15% 65% 18% TV Magazine Newspaper


Hoardings

Analysis: The above pie chart shows that children like to watch advertisements of products on TV rather than any other medium of advertising. In our survey we have found that 65% children like to watch advertisements of products on TV than in Magazine, Newspaper and on Hoardings. This is because TV advertisement can be shown more effectively with both audio and video effect than by the other medium and only these factors play a vital role to influence the children.

66 | P a g e

Q.8 You buy that products because.

Free Promotional items Friend's Influence Association of favorite character Want to be like that character

71 24 40 15

10%

Free Promotional items 47% Friend's Influence Association of favorite character Want to be like that character

27%

16%

Analysis: The above pie chart shows that children like to buy products because free items like tattoo and other things are attached with them. In our survey we have found that 47% children like to buy products just because they get free tattoo and all that children accessories on the purchase of the products. There are 27% children also who like to buy product just because his/her favorite celebrity is associated with that product and there are 16% children who buy products just because of their friends influence. They just believe that my friend has that product so I should also have that product. So children like to buy product not only because it gives free promotional products but also because his/her friends influence and his/her favorite celebrity is associated with it.

67 | P a g e

PART B:Q1. How often advertisements of products influence purchase decision of your children?

Often Sometimes Rarely Not at all

42 66 30 12

8% 20%

28% Often Sometimes Rarely 44%


Not at all

Analysis: The above pie chart shows that advertisements of products some times affect purchase decision of children. In our survey we have found that there are 28% parents who replied that advertisements of products affect more often purchase decision of their children. While 44% & 20% parents replied that advertisements affect purchase decision of their children sometimes and rarely respectively. This shows that purchase decision of children is sometimes influenced after watching advertisements of products.

68 | P a g e

Q2. How often does your child insist you to purchase any products after watching advertisements of the same?

Often Sometimes Rarely Not at all

40 56 44 10

7% 29%

27% Often Sometimes Rarely 37%


Not at all

Analysis: The above pie chart shows that there are more number of children who insist their parents sometimes to purchase any product after watching its advertisements. In our survey we have found that there are 27% parents who replied that more often their child insists them to purchase any product after watching its advertisements. And there are 37% parents who replied that sometimes their child insists them to purchase any product after watching its advertisements. Children who not at all insist their parents to purchase any product after watching its advertisements are very less. This shows that how advertisements of confectionary products affect children.
69 | P a g e

Q3. How do you react to your child when he/she insist you to buy any product after watching its advertisements?

Mostly Agree Agree Disagree Mostly Disagree

39 56 32 23

26%

15% Mostly Agree Agree 21% 38% Disagree


Mostly Disagree

Analysis: The above pie chart shows that parents become agree when their child insists them to purchase any product after watching its advertisements. In our survey we have found that there are 38% parents who replied that generally they do agree when their child insists them to purchase product after watching its advertisements. There are 26% parents who replied that they mostly agree when their child insists them to purchase any product after watching its advertisements. This shows that majority of parents are not conscious about effects of advertisements on their children especially in case of products.

70 | P a g e

6.2 Key Findings


From our survey we have found that more number of children watch television for 1-3 hours a day.

As far as watching any particular program on television is concerned, children like to watch cartoon movies or cartoon serials on television. Children also like to watch movies on television.

Among selected confectionary products from Biscuits, Wafers, Chocolates, Sauces, Noodles and Health Drinks, children like to have Biscuits, Wafers and Chocolates more than other confectionary products.

Majority of children are familiar with the advertisements of Biscuits, Wafers, Chocolates and Health Drinks more than the Sauces, Noodles and.

After watching advertisements of any confectionary products majority of children have tried to purchase that product.

Those children who have tried to purchase confectionary product after watching its advertisements, in that they like to buy more Biscuits, Chocolates and Health Drinks.

Majority of children like to watch advertisements of confectionary products on television rather any other media.

Majority of children like to buy confectionary products because it gives free tattoo and other promotional things. There are some children also who like to buy confectionary products just because his/her favorite celebrity is associated with the advertisement of that product.

After watching advertisement of confectionary products purchase decision of children sometimes gets affected.

71 | P a g e

After watching advertisement of confectionary products children sometimes insist their parents to purchase that product for them.

When children insist their parents to purchase confectionary product after watching its advertisement, parents generally do agree with them.

72 | P a g e

6.3 Suggestions
To some extent children have limited understanding so advertisers should not directly persuade children to buy the product which is shown in the advertisement. As far as advertisements of confectionary products are concerned, advertisements should be seen with their pros and cons. E.g. Chocolate

Advertisers must not misuse childrens relative inexperience.

Children can be easily attracted by the celebrity so, as far as confectionary products are concerned celebrity should not directly or indirectly persuade children to buy that product which he/she has shown using that product. It is the duty of parents to see what their children are watching on television and if they are highly influenced by the advertisements especially of confectionary products then parents should try to explain them what are the pros and cons of that product by using it.

73 | P a g e

6.4 CONCLUSION
Today, particularly young children play an important role as consumers. Especially confectionary products (Biscuits, Chocolates, Wafers, Sauces, Noodles and Health Drinks) are concerned they do not care price of which they want to buy. Also they 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, the advertising has a stronger effect on younger children than the older children. Nowadays it seems that childrens impact on family decision in shopping has been steadily increased. After the research, it was found as far as confectionary products are concerned children sometimes insist their parents to purchase those products for them. As far as confectionary products are concerned, children are influenced more by television advertisements than by the other medium of advertising. Even though there are lots of tools to show the goods or services, television was chosen as the best way that can enhance the company's profits greatly by most of researchers. Also this research validated that among many communication tools, television advertisements have more impact and effect on children than the other medium of advertising. Childrens ages are important to understand the television advertisements. Children's comprehension of television commercials increases with age.

74 | P a g e

Chapter 7
Bibliography
Books:
George Belch and George Michel, Advertising and Sales Promotion Management, 6th Edition Ogilvy David Ogilvy on Advertising by, Prion Books, London, 1997

Magazines: Advertising Express, Article: Marketing Promos Targeting Children Advertising Age, Article: Effects of Advertisements on Children

Web Links: http://www.agencyfaqs.com http://www.wowessays.com http://www.media-awareness.ca/.../advertising.../kids_advertising_rules http://www.c-i-a.com/( Computer Industry Almance)\ http://www.Itu.com (Intrenation Telecommunication Union)

75 | P a g e

Annexure
Dear Sir/Madam, I am student of NIFT Hyderabad. I am doing one Grand Project on Kids and Advertisements. For that I want your support by filling up this questionnaire for me. There are two parts in my questionnaire, one is to be filled up by children and other is to be filled up by his/her parents. I assure you that information will not be misused and Ill use information just for my project purpose. Thanking You.

PART A (To be filled by Children)

Q1 How many hours a day do you watch TV? Less than 1 hour 2 3 hours 1 2 hours More than 3 hours

Q2 What do you like to watch on TV? Cartoons Reality shows Movies TV serials Song based programmes Others_________________ Q3 From the following confectionary products which is your favorite product/s? Biscuits Wafers Chocolates Sauces Noodles Health Drinks (i.e. Bournvita, Complain, Boost, etc.)

76 | P a g e

Q4 You are familiar with advertisements of which of the following confectionary products? Biscuits Wafers Chocolates etc) Sauces Noodles Health Drinks (i.e. Bournvita, Complain, Boost,

Q5 After watching ad of any confectionary products, have you ever tried to purchase that product? Yes No

Q6 If yes then which confectionary product you have tried to purchase? Biscuit Wafer Chocolate etc) Sauce Noodle Health Drink (i.e. Bournvita, Complain, Boost,

Q7 Do you like to watch ad of products on which media? TV Magazine Newspaper Hoardings Q8 You buy that product because......... It gives free tattoo or any other thing Your friend has that product Your favorite cartoon character/favorite celebrity is associated with it You want to be like the character of that ad.
PART B (To be filled by Parents)

Q1 How often advertisements of products influence purchase decision of your children? Often Sometimes Rarely Not at all

77 | P a g e

Q2 How often does your child insist you to purchase any product after watching ad of the same? Often Sometimes Rarely Not at all

Q3 How do you react to your child when he/she insist you to buy any product after watching its ad? Mostly agree Agree Disagree Mostly disagree

PERSONAL DETAILS

Name

: - _________________________________________________________

Mother/Father Name : - _________________________________________________________ Age Std. : - ________ : 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th

School

: -__________________________________________________________

78 | P a g e

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen