Ithaca College

A Global Perspective of Advertising Towards Children

& The Ethical Issues Surrounding It

Austin Gomar, Chris Falcone, Eric Kraft, Jillian Weidner

MKTG 38000

Dr. Fahri Unsal

December 7, 2016

INTRODUCTION
 We live in a society in which advertising is virtually inescapable. For this reason, most

people would agree that it is important to have a sense of media literacy as to not be easily

seduced by the promotions being thrown at us on a regular basis. An argument may lie however,

in just what age it is acceptable to begin marketing products and services towards children. It is

important to take into consideration that children, though they influence household buying, are

not consumers themselves. In addition, they have difficulty deciphering entertainment from

advertising, and do not yet have the cognitive ability to be savvy consumers and accurately

analyze media. So, is advertising towards children helping to build smart consumers, or are

marketers taking advantage of young, inexperienced minds?

Well, the answer is not exactly cut and dry. Nonetheless, advertising towards children

only seems to be on the rise, as a 2016 report by the American Psychological Association

estimated that over $12 billion is spent annually to reach the youth market, which is a dramatic

increase since the 1970’s (Wilcox 2004). This ad spend has been linked with issues like obesity,

and with children consuming more media than ever before on account of the rapid growth of the

internet, it does not appear that the idea of advertising towards children will be going away

anytime soon.

Of course, the subject is controversial, and the rules and feelings surrounding it vary

across the globe on account of different cultural standards. Because this is a global issue, four

different regions of the world, and their respective views on advertising towards children, will be

discussed. To better understand advertising towards children from an international marketing

lens, this paper will specifically look at the United States, Europe, Asia and South America and

how their cultural norms and communications –related laws and legislations effect

advertisements for children.

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 However, before each country is brought into focus, it is best to further discuss some of

the most popular techniques used to market to children. Many advertisers use animated

characters as brand ambassadors to be more appealing to children. This makes it more difficult

for children to distinguish between the cartoon programs they watch for entertainment and

advertisements. Celebrity endorsements are also often used for food advertisements. As a study

in the Journal of Pediatrics reports, the use of celebrity endorsement in advertising ranks as one

of the “techniques to which children and adolescents are more susceptible” (Boyland 2013).

Repetition is also an important tool for advertisers to resonate their message with

children, as it is believed repetition increases familiarity with a product, increasing the likelihood

of purchase. Therefore, many advertisements created for children have catchy, repetitive jingles

(Calvert 2008). This same logic behind repetition explains why integrated marketing campaigns

are popular among advertisers. If a child sees an advertisement or their favorite branded

character across multiple media platforms, such as on television and the internet, they will gain

more familiarity with them.

To continue, another way to integrate branding with children’s entertainment is through

“advergames.” These are video or computer games which feature branded products throughout,

or are sponsored by brands completely, like for example the 1993 McDonald’s Treasure Land

Adventure game (Amirkhani 2013). Another major technique that is popular for advertising to

children is product placement within films or television series. Branded products can easily work

themselves into a story line, and product placements have the potential to be even more effective

than traditional advertisements. Product placements cannot be skipped over like advertisements

can, and when viewers are emotionally swept up in a story, it can be easier to demonstrate a

product’s value (Nathanson 2013).

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 So, it is helpful to keep all of these tactics in mind when exploring the effects of

advertising towards children across the globe. It is also helpful for readers to think back to when

they were children, and some of the jingles they heard, their favorite commercials, and the

brands they felt loyal to. Every area of the world, and even every nation, has their own unique

stance on the subject of advertising towards children, be it for ethical, cultural, or economic

reasons. This paper will start off exploring the subject in the area we are most familiar with, the

United States.

UNITED STATES

In the United States, marketing to children is a daily practice for a plethora of large

corporations. Children are commonly targeted due to their avid use of technology and daily

media consumption. Additionally, the overall spending power of children in the U.S. has

continued to increase. Not only do U.S. children have heavy pockets when it comes to how they

spend their own money, but they also have a large impact on their parent’s purchasing decisions.

Thus, it is no question why many companies and ad agencies are continuing to target this

country’s youth. In fact, billions of dollars are spent annually on advertisements to impact the

way in which children in the U.S. spend their money. Today in America, product exposure to

children is greater than ever, and many ethical issues have arisen as a result of companies’

decisions to target children directly. As child-purchasing patterns are influenced by

advertisements, the major issues that arise are a direct result of the fact that the majority of these

products are deceitful, unhealthy, and promote child obesity. It is up to government organizations

such as the Federal Communications Commision and the Federal Trade Commission to limit the

exposure that these ads have on children and ultimately protect them.

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 In the 1920s, television began to dominate in American households. U.S. advertisers

quickly realized its potential, and succeeded in using it as a hub for the mass communication of

products to both adults and children. As consumers in the U.S., we are exposed to branded

content at a very young age. In 2004, children saw, on average, “25,629 television

advertisements across all programming,” which adds up to “10,717 minutes of television

advertising annually” (Desrochers 2007). Marketers use things like repetition, animations,

branded characters, and celebrity endorsements on television to target children in the U.S.

directly, and persuade them to spend money. However, children in the U.S. view approximately

40,000 advertisements each year (Calvert 2008), and only a fraction of these advertisements

reach children via television commercials. The remainder of advertisements that children are

exposed to come from other integrated marketing strategies. With constant developments in

technology and increasing use of the Internet, U.S. brands and marketing agencies have done a

good job to maximize exposure by marketing products across multiple media platforms.

In the United States, the most common products whose advertisements target children

include sugary cereals, fast foods, candies, carbonated beverages, and toys. These product

categories have remained fairly consistent over time. With these categories making up the

majority of ad spending, annual marketing expenditures targeting children in the U.S. “were

estimated at some $15 billion” in 2004 (Calvert 2008). In 2009, the Federal Trade Commission

conducted a study to further identify U.S. spending patterns of marketing toward children. The

study included 48 companies who reported spending a combined $1.79 billion on youth

marketing. Of those expenditures, $1 billion worth of marketing strategies were directed at

children ages two to eleven. Furthermore, “[fast foods], carbonated beverages, and breakfast

cereals accounted for $1.29 billion of all youth-directed expenditures, 72% of the total” (Federal

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Trade Commission 2012). Interestingly enough, more than half of those expenditures belong to

the reporting fast food companies who spent a surprising $714 million on marketing to children.

Why spend so much money to target children in advertisements? As mentioned, children

and teens are affluent users of all types of media. Children in particular are easy to deceive and

have very impressionable minds. Thus, they absorb content like a sponge whether they realize it

or not. These reasons for targeting children is common among nations across the globe including

Europe, Asia, and South America. However, spending patterns of children in the U.S. differ from

children across the globe. In fact, U.S. four- to twelve-year-olds spent a combined $30 billion in

2002, and twelve- to seventeen-year-olds spent $112.5 billion the next year (Calvert 2008). One

study showed that U.S. parents supply 87 percent of young children’s income (Calvert 2008). It

is no secret that children and teens in the U.S. are substantial consumers and buyers of goods.

However, the money they spend is only a fraction of a child’s total purchasing power.

Furthermore, youths are increasingly shaping the buying patterns of their families.

In the United States, there are two main regulators of advertisements aimed at children:

the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The

Federal Communications Commission helps to prevent ethical issues in advertisements targeting

children by regulating the media in which children are exposed to. “In the early 1970s, the FCC

initiated aggressive rulemaking to regulate children’s television programming and advertising”

(Cain Reid 2014). They first proposed to ban all sponsorship and commercials on children’s

programming, though after three years, they made the decision to back off the proposal

significantly. The proposed ban was never adopted, and the FCC instead focused on promoting

brand self-regulation.

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 The final FFC order of 1974 addressed children’s inability to distinguish programming

from commercials. The order proposed that transitions between an advertisement and the

program content must be distinct. Hence the use of phrases like “After these messages, we’ll be

right back,” and “Stay tuned for more, after these short messages.” Additionally, products being

sold could not be integrated into program content. As such, host selling was not allowed. In other

words, the main character on a television program could not sell products during that program or

during blocks of commercial adjacent to it. Unfortunately, this only prohibited characters from

selling products on, or during, their own shows. However, there was nothing stopping these

actors from promoting and selling products on other programs at other times. In addition to the

prohibition of host selling, “tombstone shots” were required. These shots aided in the distinction

between programming and advertising by “[showing] the unadorned product in a still frame

without all the extra toys that can be purchased with it” (Calvert 2008).

Unfortunately, the 1974 FFC order for mandatory commercial separation was followed

by a major lack of enforcement. Additionally, the rules only applied to children’s programming

and neglected to take into account programs produced for general audiences. In total, “children

are exposed to 8673 advertisements on children’s programs, which is [only] 33.8% of the total

from all programs” (Desrochers 2007). This means that a majority of the exposure is coming

from programming designed for mixed audiences. For example, American Idol is a family show

that is widely view by children throughout the United States. What’s worse is the shows regular

product placement of Coca-Cola and other brands promoting malnutrition.

Today, the FCC continues to regulate children’s television programming and advertising,

under the authority granted in the Federal Communications Act and the Children’s Television

Act of 1990 (CTA). The Children’s Television Act limits advertisements on children’s television

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to 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends, and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays. However, these

limitations are frequently violated. In fact, “one in four of the 900 U.S. commercial television

stations showed more commercial material than allowed by the CTA from 1992 through 1994”

(Calvert 2008). Due to the lack of enforcement, and frequent violation of many of the rules set

into place by the FCC, regulators were in need of a new way to control the exposure of children.

For this reason, Congress passed the Child Safe Viewing Act (CSVA) in 2007. The CSVA

authorized the FCC to investigate marketplace technologies that would empower parents to

control all media children view, from television to the Internet (Cain Reid 2014).

While the FCC is charged with regulating the media, the FTC or Federal Trade

Commission regulates advertising. In 1938, Congress granted the FTC the power to “regulate

‘unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce’ and to prohibit ‘any false

advertisement’ for food products that is ‘misleading in a material respect’” (Mello 2010). Later,

in 1978, the FTC concluded that television advertising to children was unfair and deceptive

because “they did not have the cognitive capacity to understand the selling intent of ads and that

advertising directed to young children should be banned” (Scammon 2014). Similar to the efforts

of the FCC in the 1970s, the FTC proposed a ban on all advertising directed at children younger

than six, and all sugary food advertising directed at children younger than twelve. To their

dismay, the FTC encountered major public outcry in response to its proposal. In response to this,

Congress temporarily suspended all funding for the FTC, “restoring it only after passing

legislation in 1980 that narrowed the commission’s authority to regulate children’s television

advertising” (Mello 2010). The FTC had lost their authority to declare any children’s advertising

rule on the basis of unfairness. However, the organization continued to have rulemaking

authority to declare children’s advertising to be deceptive.

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 Congress took additional steps to prevent deceptive practices occurring on the Internet. In

1998, Congress passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which placed

rules on online marketing techniques to protect the privacy of children under the age of thirteen.

The law went into effect in 2000, and authorized the FTC to create and enforce rules for data

collection practices at children’s websites. Additionally, COPPA authorized the FTC to disclose

privacy policies about data collection techniques as well as about how that information was to be

used (Calvert 2008).

In 2005 the FTC rejected the notion that undisclosed product placement was deceptive.

They went even further to address the issue from the perspective of an ‘ordinary child’, saying

“‘if no objective claims are made for the product, ...consumer injury from an undisclosed paid

product placement seems unlikely’” (Cain Reid 2014). Ultimately, all practices marketing

products to children have some protection due to “freedom of speech” guaranteed in the First

Amendment of the Constitution. Although advertisers do not enjoy the same freedom as

everyday citizens to speak as they wish, they have considerable leeway to present their choice of

content.

McDonald’s advertisements reach children between the ages of two to eleven more than

twice the amount of its competitors in the United States. They are a perfect example of a fast

food chain that has strategically targeted children in their advertising campaigns. In some states,

McDonald’s hosts an event called McTeacher’s Night (aka McStaff Night). During this event,

school staff work at a local McDonald’s, and a portion of the sales are given back to the school.

These events typically draw a large crowd. Although it seems McDonald’s is hosting these

events for the betterment of a particular community, they reap far more benefits from the night.

In one case in Cardington, Ohio, the school had earned $191 by the end of the night. That seems

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like a decent take-away, until it’s compared to the $1273 the McDonald's earned from the event.

Not only did McDonald’s profit from this event, but, by forcing children and their families to

think positively about the brand and using teachers to influence their students, they were able to

effectively market and advertise their fast food to children without them realizing that they are

being targeted.

In conclusion, marketing to children is a common practice in the United States, and one

that we will continue to see as time goes on. Children in the U.S. are daily consumers of media.

They view tens of thousands of commercials per year, and with the rise of technology and new

media platforms developing on a regular bases, marketers now have more outlets through which

to target children. Thus, exposure to products like sugary cereals, fast foods, and carbonated

beverages is greater than ever for children in the United States. Companies in the U.S. target

children in advertisements every day due to their disposable income, their influence over their

parent’s purchases, and their overall purchasing power. The majority of children lack the ability

to understand the persuasive intent of commercials, and are unable distinguish between

programming and commercial content. For this reason, government affiliations such as the FCC

and FTC have implemented many laws in attempt to regulate the content that children in the U.S.

are exposed to. However, the lack of enforcement of these rules, along with the freedom of

speech granted by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, has led to the promotion of

brand self regulation and increased parental guidance. While many of the ideals behind

marketing to children in the United States overlap with those in other parts of the world such as

Europe, Asia, and South America, it is important to note that the practices and regulations in the

U.S. are unique to its socioeconomic culture. Advertising to children throughout the continent of

Europe, and the respective issue surrounding it, will now be discussed.

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 EUROPE

As early on as 1874, European countries set legislation in place which limited merchants

from tempting children to buy their products (Wilcox 2004). Perhaps this may be seen as

Europe’s original restriction on advertisements directed at children. In general, Europe tends to

be fairly relaxed when it comes to restrictions on television content. Perhaps one of the most

major differences between broadcasting in Europe and the United States is the influence of

public broadcasting. While public broadcasting only captures about 2% of audiences in the

United States, about 30% – 40% of audiences in most of Western Europe tune into public

television (Hallin 2005).

Taking this government-backed media landscape into consideration, as well as the tight-

knit geography of Europe’s many countries, it is logical that the continuing theme in the

regulation of advertising towards children in Europe is self-regulation versus mass organizational

regulation. Things that influence the continuous controversial topic of advertising towards

children include the varying cultures across Europe, how they affect parenting and the media,

and the pre-existing legislations that surround this topic.

It is best to have a solid understanding of the norms surrounding the media in Europe

before delving into how it is regulated. While television has the highest share of global ad spend,

in May of 2016, it was officially reported that in Europe, online advertising dominated the

market with a 13.1% share (Fennah 2016). It is not until 2017 that online advertising is expected

to outweigh television advertising in the United States. (MediaPost 2016).

The BBC reports that the amount of time children spend online now outweighs the time

they spend watching television. When children do watch television, 38% of them do most of it

on demand via commercial-free services like Netflix. Another important aspect to consider is

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that over 67% of children 5 – 16 now own their own personal tablets. This further proves that

advertisers must work to adapt to the changing media landscape (Coughlan 2016). The typical

television commercials they have used to target children for the last 50 years or so are no longer

very effective, seeing as the target audience is simply no longer there.

Marketing in Europe is also generally seen as a bit less “in your face” than it is in the

United States. For example, a blog writer by the name of Maciamo writes that it would be much

less common in Europe to see marketing gimmicks that are common in America like mascots

standing outside stores promoting deals, or outdoor advertisements like billboards (Maciamo

2015). Another thing to keep in mind is that products that are typically promoted towards

children are things like toys and sugary cereals. Most of the sugary cereal brands in Europe are

owned by US-based companies, like Nestle, so it is understandable that many European brands

have not developed a distinctive voice when it comes to advertising towards children, but instead

rely heavily on the more obnoxious American style.

As the impact of media legislation in Europe is discussed, it is imperative to keep the

geographical layout of Europe in mind. Because of how small many of the countries are, some

do not find it worth the time and effort to set up their own national broadcasting systems. Due to

the close proximity of the countries, many stream in channels from neighboring countries via

satellite. This somewhat pan-European system is why organizations that encompass all of

Europe, like the European Union, have taken up this issue, rather than simply leaving it up for

each country to decide (Kang 2001).

In 1989, the European Union implemented a set of laws to regulate all television in

Europe called “Television Without Frontiers.” The laws have been amended over time but are

still in place today. Article 16 of the Television Without Frontiers Act specifically targets

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television advertising directed towards children. The act basically states that advertisers have to

be ethical when marketing towards children, and cannot exploit trust that children place in

parents or teacher, directly urge them to buy a product or service, prey on their inexperience,

show minors in dangerous situations, or urge minors to nag their parents for a product or service

(Kang 2001). The act works to prevent commercials from interrupting the ultimate goal of

television, which is to entertain and inform viewers.

However, many of the attempts taken to limit advertising directed at children in certain

countries are actually quite political and backed in economic reasoning. For example, Greece has

banned the advertisement of toy weapons since 1987. More recently, they even banned all toy

commercials from being aired between the hours of 7pm and 10pm (Kang 2001). While at first

glance this is an initiative to protect children viewers during primetime, Greece has a little more

stake in it than that. In an effort of protectionism, Greece was attempting to limit the demand for

toys, as the vast majority of toy manufacturers are not Greek. This effort was serious enough that

Greece was accused of violating the Treaty of Rome, which calls for the free movement of goods

and services across the borders of countries within the EU. Though no punishment came of the

accusation, this scenario goes to show what a political statement advertising bans can be.

Taking a look at other European nations, some handle self-regulation incredibly well. For

example, the United Kingdom legislates its advertising industry with an independent regulator,

the Advertising Standards Authority, which works alongside quasi-government agencies to

provide a series of checks on the advertising industry. Guidelines on advertising to children are

also set by Britain’s Independent Television Commission, red flags in commercials are checked

for by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Center, and as a final step, independent television

broadcast companies check ads before airing them. Britain’s layered regulation system is perhaps

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one of the best in the world when it comes to restricting children’s advertising through self-

regulation (Kang 2001).

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden

have strayed from self-regulation and have instead appointed a consumer ombudsman as a

governmental official to receive and resolve or litigate complaints relating to their consumer

industry. The countries actually both implement a complete ban on advertising to children aged

12 and under. Both countries also ban all commercials during, and immediately before and after,

all children’s television programs. Interestingly enough, most of the advertising agencies in these

countries are in agreement with the bans, as in these very liberal nations, advertising towards

children was always seen as unethical, so there was never a large market for it (Kang 2001).

In 2001, Sweden led an effort to encourage the European Union to pass a Pan-European

ban following in their footsteps, and ban all advertising aimed at children aged 12 and under in

all EU member states. Countries on board with Sweden in the effort included Denmark, Greece,

Belgium, Norway, and Italy (Kang 2001). For context as to why Sweden is so passionate about

this cause, it is important to look at the De Agostini court ruling. In this case, Swedish

advertisers who were targeting children had been blocked on Swedish channels. So, they went

through channels in the United Kingdom (where rules regarding advertising to children are much

more lax) that were also aired in Sweden to advertise their products to Swedish children. The

Swedish Consumer Ombudsman sought to find out if these advertisements were to be controlled

under Swedish or English law. The European Court of Justices found that because the broadcasts

were coming out of Britain, they were subject to Britain’s advertising laws. This loophole

encouraged Sweden to push for the Pan-European ban (Kang 2001). As is obvious, the Pan-

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European ban did not pass, and though some countries have cracked down on legislation a bit

more regarding advertising towards children, there is not a complete ban on it across Europe.

Continuing on, perhaps one of the gravest issues Europe is dealing with that relates to

advertising towards children is an increasing childhood obesity rate. While it is difficult to prove

a direct correlation between food advertisements and an increase in the obesity rate, it has been

shown that commercials can influence what children think about food, and their feelings towards

it (Terlutter 2008). It seems to be a trend that food with poor nutritional value is marketed most

towards children. In fact, a 2010 study found that across the globe, children’s programs had the

highest proportion of commercials for non-core foods (junk foods). Specifically, 80% of food

advertisements shown during children’s programs were for junk food (Kelly 2010).

Unhappy with the rising numbers of childhood obesity in their populations, European

countries including Germany, England, and Ireland are now taking initiatives to fight back

against junk food marketing geared towards kids. In 2005, the EU launched a “platform for

action” to fight obesity, gathering advertising industry representatives to voluntarily join in the

fight against obesity by marketing things like physical activity, nutrition values, and portion

sizes. In 2007, Germany launched its own national campaign with similar goals that is set to

continue through 2020, called “FITT STATT FETT”, meaning “fit instead of fat” (Terlutter

2008). Countries like Ireland and the UK have recently taken more direct and intense measures

against junk food advertising directed at children. In 2005, Ireland banned all fast food and

candy commercials, and mandated that wrappers must contain warnings like, “ "Fast food should

be eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet," or, "Snacking on sugary food and drinks can

damage teeth” (Rosenthal 2005).

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 If one European country is at the center of the childhood obesity fight, it is England. As

of 2005, about 20% of ten year olds, and 10% of six year olds were fighting obesity. In the five

years from 1996 to 2001 alone, obesity rates in England increased 7%. These rates increase

steadily alongside the growing amount the ten biggest food advertisers in England spent on ads

from 1995 – 2005. In those ten years, the companies increased their collective yearly budgets by

50 million pounds. England even reflects back on the fact that Burger King was the main sponsor

of the children’s program, “Teletubbies”, and how sponsors like that for children’s programming

will be unacceptable in the future (Rosenthal, 2005).

In conclusion, it is clear that as of the early 2000s, European nations have amped up their

game when it comes to controlling advertisers who target children. Though the ideologies and

intensity of laws vary between countries, with the existence of the European Union and

broadcast channels spanning multiple nations, controlling this issue is something that spans the

continent. Because the government has employed so much of the media to join in the fight

against heightening obesity rates, and has realized the error of the media’s previous ways (in

advertising junk food), it only makes sense that regulations on advertising towards children will

continue to increase in Europe. However, it is important to note that this task will only become

more difficult as digital media usage rises, and eventually cancels out television, in Europe.

Now, advertising standards regarding children across Asia will be discussed.

ASIA

As a world region, Asia is the world’s largest and most diverse continent. Asia contains

around 30% of the world's land area and 60% of the world's population (Asia Geography for kids

n.d). Asia is home to two of the three largest economies in the world: China (2nd largest) and

Japan (3rd largest) (Asia Geography for kids n.d). Asia has some unique characteristics from the

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point of view of the advertising industry. Asia is said to be the world’s largest advertising agency

because of their gigantic advertising markets such as Japan, China and India (Sinclair 2007).

These three countries have many major cities for advertising such as Tokyo, Japan, Delhi, India,

Mumbai, India, Shanghai, China and Osaka, Japan (Asia Geography for kids n.d). The

advertising market has grown rapidly in Asia over the past couple of years with all the new

technological advances in the world. Advertising to children in Asia is a sensitive and

emotionally-charged issue because children are easily influenced and like to experiment with

new things. There are many cultural norms, laws and legislations and controversial cases towards

advertising to children in Asia.

First cultural norms in Asian countries are very unique. Chinese preferences, tastes, and

interpretations are different from those of other cultures. China is a very large country, and the

customs and traditions of its people vary by geography and ethnicity. There are more than one

billion people who live in China, according to the Asia Society, that represent 56 different ethnic

minority groups (Zimmermann 2015). Confucianism plays a large role in ancient tradition upon

which Chinese culture is derived (Xu n.d). In Chinese culture there are four basic virtues which

are loyalty, respect for parents and elders, goodwill, and righteousness (Xu n.d). Education is

most highly esteemed in Chinese society and Mandarin is the main language (Xu n.d). China is a

high context culture meaning cultures communicate in ways that are implicit and rely heavily on

context (Sinkula & Olson 2014). Also China is a collectivist country meaning groups make

decisions, not individuals (Sinkula & Olson 2014). In Chinese culture, successful Chinese and

foreign advertisers use a “soft sell” approach which uses image oriented messages which provide

better implicit and symbolic information (Sinkula & Olson 2014). As well, advertisers receive

many strong negative attitudes from Chinese parents when they advertise to their children,

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especially the mother. Parents believe advertising should be banned during the normal hours of

the day and parents rely on the Chinese government to enforce those rules and control

advertising aimed at children. Chinese parents do not perceive themselves of having the

knowledge or ability to mediate effects of advertising on children as there is a lack of child

advocacy groups in the country. The Chinese parents try to have full control of all their

children’s medias. Parents want full control so their children can focus on their studies and

continue to think independently without having to watch advertisements. Parents use media as a

reward system so children would have to do their homework before they can watch TV or play

videogames (Chan & McNeal 2004).

Much of the culture of Japan has been adapted from that of China, although it has also

been greatly influenced by Western countries over the past century. The Japanese family is the

basic unit of society and there is great appreciation and respect for elders. Family communication

is key in Japanese culture. Education is highly valued in Japanese society, and academic

achievement is held in great esteem. The importance of hard work and perseverance is put into

Japanese children from an early age and will remain a fundamental belief throughout adulthood.

The Japanese tend to be more formal and polite and less physical and personal in their everyday

dealing than "westerners". Japan’s youth are increasingly westernized, but the older generation

may still follow their cultural traditions (Cultural Norms and Traditions in Japan n.d). Like

China, Japan is a high-context culture. Japanese marketers and foreign countries marketing to

Japan typically use emotional rather than informational appeals (Hermeking 2005). This will

allow advertisers and marketers to avoid mentioning product benefits, guarantees, and safety.

Along with China, it is important for Japanese marketers on stressing a company’s reputation

and image is more crucial and an effective way to transfer feelings to consumers and gain

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preference. A company’s image is critical for Japanese ads and the imagery is communicated

through a “soft sell” approach, which will get consumers trust and respect, especially children.

Advertising in Japan relies heavily on celebrities, catchy slogans, trendy music and imagery to

sell products and services (Gaumer & Shah n.d). Lastly, anime in Japan is widely used by

advertisers because Shintoism a (Japanese religion) has strong references to the concept of

animism. Animism meaning the worldview that non-living things possess a soul and are

therefore a very important part of life (Thomson 2015).

In Asia there are various laws and legislations regarding advertising towards children. In

China, advertising is a carefully regulated but dominated industry (Hawkes 2004-2006) (Chan &

McNeal 2004). In 1980, the Chinese Council announced the State Administration of Industry and

Commerce (SAIC) would be the official body in China to monitor advertising (Jin 2016). China

announced its first advertising law in 1994 on October 27 which was adopted at the Tenth

Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress. Before this law

was passed, all regulations in advertising were made by the local governments (Chan & McNeal

2004). In 1982, the SAIC made their first set of national advertising laws. The goals of the new

set of advertising laws was to 1. clean up the advertising market environment, 2. suppress unfair

competition, 3. protect consumer’s rights and 4. protect domestic products. Along with this first

set of advertising laws, in 1994, the SAIC implemented Censorship Standards to all types of

different medias (Chan & McNeal 2004). In article 5, of the Censorship Standards specifies the

regulation of children’s advertising. The Chinese definition of advertising is broader than in the

Western societies as it includes adult products that use children as models in advertisements. The

specifics of the Censorship Standards focus more on the cultural impact of advertising to

children (Chan & McNeal 2004). The advertising law does not have separate articles dealing

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with children specifically, however the protection of children is directly implied under Article 8

which states the advertisement may not be harmful to the physical or mental health of minors

(refers to under age 18) or the disabled (Lam & Chatterton n.d). In addition, China came up with

a new advertising law in September 2015, that imposes much stricter controls on advertising than

in the past for online advertising. The new regulation clarifies what content is considered

“internet advertising,” lays down rules for “publishers” of online advertisements, and outlines

investigation measures and penalties for violators. Also, the amended law introduces more

controls on advertising aimed at children. All advertising in schools and kindergartens is

prohibited, as is advertising in textbooks and exercise books and on school uniforms and school

buses (Lam & Chatterton n.d). Children under the age of 10 cannot be used to endorse products

or services. The Amended Law also prohibits the advertising of cosmetics, medicines, medical

apparatus, online games, alcoholic beverages and tobacco to children (Lam & Chatterton n.d).

In Asia’s largest advertising market, Japan, the Japan Advertising Review Organization

(JARO) strives to protect consumers and ensure fair advertising and labeling practices (Japan

Advertising Review Organization n.d). If an advertisement in Japan is targeting a specific group

of consumers, such as children, “it is desirable that the impact of the commercial practice be

assessed from the perspective of the average member of that group. Specific features such as age,

physical or mental health or credibility make consumers very susceptible to a commercial

practice or to the underlying product and the economic behavior only of such consumers is likely

to be distorted by the practice in a way that the trader can reasonably foresee, it is appropriate to

ensure that they are adequately protected by assessing the practice from the perspective of the

average member of that group” (Japanese Consumer Law Article 2010). Japan has very limited

regulatory controls on advertising aimed towards children. But, advertisements are banned in the

19
public school systems. Over the past decade the Japanese government has taken no action to

further regulate advertising towards children (Hawkes 2004-2006).

In Asia, companies featured in this report offered a number of globally recognized food

products to children below 16 years’ old that are unhealthy based on the UK Food Standards

Agency criteria for what is high in fat, sugar and/or salt (Robinson 2008). These multinational

companies are heavily marketing their unhealthy food products to children below 16 years old.

Some of the marketing techniques these multinational companies are using to market their

products to children include: sponsorship of children’s sporting activities in schools, television

advertising, interactive websites, sports-themed contests and competitions, discounts, use of

cartoon characters, on-pack games and promotions, movie tie-ins, children’s clubs, free toys,

children’s meals, celebrity endorsements, posters and many more. In Fiji for the past 35 years

Coca-Cola has been the main sponsor of the Coke Games. The Coke Games is an athletic

competition for 120 secondary schools in Fiji. Coca-Cola is a spreading awareness about their

high sugar products to children and are giving children contradictory messages about what a

healthy lifestyle consists of (Robinson 2008). In India, Kellogg’s TV advertisements use a ton of

animation, such as Kellogg’s repeatedly using their own brand cartoon characters such as Tony

the Tiger and Coco the Monkey to market their high sugar products to children (Robinson 2008).

As well, in these advertisements they have parents and children consume their products together,

or show them somehow benefiting from the breakfast cereals. This conveys to children that if

their parents are eating Kellogg’s cereal, they should follow. Another multinational company,

KFC, has children’s chicken meals. Each meal comes with a toy varying in accordance to KFC’s

current marketing tie-ins with movies, cartoon characters, or popular toy figures, in Malaysia

(Robinson 2008). In Hong Kong, India and Thailand, McDonald’s advertises their Happy Meals

20
on mainstream television channels during weekday afternoons and weekend mornings (Robinson

2008). These advertisements are about children playing with the Happy Meal toys (Robinson

2008). Multinational companies advertising unhealthy processed foods to children is a huge issue

in Asia as well as westernized countries. There is a variety of marketing techniques that are

becoming very sophisticated when it comes to promoting food to children.

Large multinational companies are continuing to target children residing in the Asia

Pacific area, as children are most vulnerable when they are young. These companies know Asia

is the largest continent with the biggest population, which gives advertisers the most potential to

spread brand awareness and get rich quickly by advertising towards children. In addition,

multinational companies’ advertisers are conveying particular advertisements in specific

countries to reach the consumer by using their cultural norms in the advertisement. Lastly,

multinational companies’ are continuing to use marketing techniques in a wide variety of ways

and get away with advertising to children, even though there are many laws and regulations in

Asian countries prohibiting advertising to children. The continent of South America, specifically

the nations of Brazil and Argentina, will now be focused on.

SOUTH AMERICA

Advertising in South America is an emerging market, and as the shift towards a

globalized economy becomes more apparent, many South American countries are looking to

develop their laws and regulations that control advertising. The two countries that will be

primarily discussed in this section are Brazil and Argentina, South America’s two largest

countries. Advertising spending within these countries has grown rapidly over the past decade;

Brazil is expected to spend $22.6 billion this year while Argentina is estimated to spend $6.34

21
billion (Statista n.d.). Both of these countries are currently applying more ‘westernized’

standards to their advertising markets in an effort to self-regulate the industry, protect vulnerable

consumer groups and minimize risks as multinational firms begin to operate within these

countries. This section will discuss both Brazil and Argentina separately and describe cultural

attitudes towards the advertising industry and its regulation, organizations responsible for

enforcing regulation, current laws and regulations that protect vulnerable consumers such as

children, and various case studies that demonstrate how regulations are put into action.

BRAZIL:

As previously discussed, advertising is a quickly developing market in Brazil. The

country, in recent years, has become one of the top five biggest advertising markets in the world

and the top spender in Latin America (Cassim 2007). This has made it an attractive place for

multinational advertising firms to come and do business. Many of these firms, for example

Ogilvy and Mather, are large U.S. firms that have large operations within the country. To protect

the interests of media firms, the advertising industry, media professionals and sometimes the

public lobby against many of the government’s attempts at controlling media content,

specifically content that is promoted in advertisements (Shaver 2014). However, the industry

does not believe that they should be allowed to regulate themselves; rather, they are afraid of

being censored by the government.

In many democratic countries including Brazil, the regulation of media content by the

government is commonly viewed as a threat to every citizen’s right to freedom of speech and

expression (Shaver 2014). However, Brazil was not always democratized; the country endured a

military dictatorship for nearly 20 years. Under this type of leadership, censorship of the press is

a common practice. It wasn’t until 1988 that the laws allowing the government to infringe on the

22
media’s freedom of expression were ruled unconstitutional in the Federal Constitution (Shaver

2014). Today, the Brazilian people remain very passionate about freedom of expression and are

quick to dissent when the government makes an attempt at imposing new restrictions. It is also a

common trend across this region of South America.

Although the Brazilian people hold fairly negative opinions towards governmental

regulation of media content and advertisements, they are very much aware of the need for

regulation in the industry. The National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation, commonly

known as CONOR, is a non-governmental agency that imposes self-regulation upon the

advertising industry. The main responsibility of CONOR is to uphold the Brazilian Advertising

Self-Regulation Code, which was created in 1978 (Shaver 2014). This code lays out general rules

regarding ethics in advertising in addition to specific rules relating to advertising of specific

products considered to be sensitive for children. The agency receives consumer complaints about

questionable advertisements that have aired or been published. CONOR has the power to

suspend an ad campaign or impose content changes if an ad is in violation of the self- regulation

code. In general, most advertisers in Brazil respect the decisions handed down by the regulating

body because it is seen as the ethical thing to do (Shaver 2014). However, there are no legal

requirements for an advertiser to obey the decisions handed down by CONOR, meaning that

many current advertisers are not afraid to push the limits and publish racy content.

The Brazilian attitudes toward the regulation of advertising that were discussed above

had a direct effect on the way advertisers were targeting children in recent years. Studies began

to show that the lax attitudes toward regulation were starting to have adverse effects on children

because they were being exposed to messages that were too inappropriate for their age. A 2006

study conducted in Brazil revealed that adolescents (that participated in the study) were being

23
exposed to alcohol advertisements at an equal or sometimes higher rate than young adults who

were the intended target audience of this messaging (Pinsky 2010). Similar studies with other

sensitive products like fast food also found that advertisements were reaching a younger

audience and influencing the purchase decisions of children and their parents. It became clear

that some regulations needed to be put into place to protect children, who tend to lack adequate

judgment and experience as consumers.

As far as regulations specifically aimed at advertising toward children go, there are not

many, although there are proposals are still awaiting approval. There are however, many

restrictions on the marketing of products like alcohol, tobacco, medicine, chemical products, etc.

For example, the advertising of alcoholic beverages and other sensitive products in Brazil is only

permitted between 9:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. (Shaver 2014). These are times when a large percentage

of children are supposedly not watching television or listening to the radio. The Statute on

Children and Adolescents created in 1990 states that broadcasters who don’t abide by terms laid

out in the statute could be fined or suspended if there was proof of a violation (Shaver 2014).

There is also Article 37 of the Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Code that regulates

advertising to children. This article specifically encourages respect for the inexperience and

loyalty commonly observed in children as well as truth and honesty in advertisements targeted at

them (Shaver 2014). CONOR’s regulations explicitly state that target audiences must be made up

of adults, products cannot be advertised for consumption by children and images and sounds

considered to be appealing to children could not be used in advertisements (Shaver 2014).

Children and adolescents are also not permitted to appear in any type of advertisement promoting

a product deemed inappropriate for their age group (tobacco, alcohol, firearms, lottery, etc.).

Failure to abide by these regulations could result in proposed content changes, hefty fines, or a

24
suspension of the ad campaign altogether (Shaver 2014). Again, it is important to note that none

of these regulations have the force of the law behind them, as a self-regulating body enforces

them. This means that while an advertiser who violates these regulations will likely face one or

many of the repercussions discussed above, legal action cannot be taken against them.

To provide some context as to why regulations protecting children from advertising are

necessary, we can refer back to the 2006 study previously discussed, which was called

“Exposure of adolescents and young adults to alcohol advertising in Brazil.” Again, this study

found that many adolescents were being exposed to alcohol advertising at rates equal or

sometimes higher than that of young adults. This insight was a major concern in Brazil given the

prevalence of alcoholism in the country (Pinsky 2010). It is because of studies like this that

alcohol advertisements are now strictly regulated in Brazil. New regulations, such as time

limitations for alcohol advertisements and warnings, are seeking to combat alcoholism by

preventing the promotional messages from reaching children that are too young to understand

that advertisements are trying to influence purchase and consumption decisions. As more

information about children’s unintended exposure to advertisements become available, the

perceived need for stricter regulation increases.

ARGENTINA

Argentina is the second largest country in South America (behind Brazil) and is also

experiencing vast and rapid growth in the advertising industry. Similarly to Brazil, Argentina

returned to a democratic form of government after being ruled by a military regime from 1976 to

1983 (Shaver 2014). Under the regime, censorship of media content was commonplace, so

citizens nowadays tend to be skeptical of government regulation of media content. This is the

same trend we observed in Brazil. Nonetheless, Argentinians are well aware of the harms that

25
can be caused by deceptive and inappropriate advertising and recognize the need for regulation.

Argentina’s recently democratized society is increasingly open to participating in the global

economy, which is leading to the adoption of westernized policies regarding advertising

regulations (Shaver 2014). In recent years, Argentina has passed many regulations specific to the

advertising of socially sensitive products to children such as alcohol, tobacco, and food. In fact,

Argentina takes a slightly tougher stance on the advertising of socially sensitive products as

compared to Brazil.

Argentinian law 24.334 regulates the advertising of tobacco products. It specifically

requires warning labels to be placed on product packaging and prohibits tobacco advertisements

from being played 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on radio and television (Shaver 2014). Tobacco ads are also

prohibited in publications for minors, educational institutions and at any activity where children

are expected to be present. Additionally, minors cannot be depicted in tobacco commercials.

Similar regulations have been put into place for alcohol advertisements. Law 24.788 prohibits

advertisements that encourage the consumption of alcohol and, like the tobacco laws, prevents

children from appearing in alcohol advertisements (Shaver 2014). The law also prevents alcohol

advertisements from airing on television before 10 p.m. All alcohol advertisements must include

the words “drink in moderation” and “not for sale to persons under 18”. Law 26.396 regulates

the advertising of fast food, which is seen as a way to control increasing obesity rates in

adolescents (Shaver 2014). All advertisements promoting food with high calorie content and low

nutrients are required to have a warning stating, “Excessive consumption of this product can

damage your health” (Shaver 2014). Aside from these very specific laws, there is a general

regulation that limits the amount of advertising that can be broadcasted on the radio and

television. Radio has a maximum of 14 minutes per hour to broadcast advertising while

26
television has a maximum of 12 minutes per hour. Paid television is given 8 minutes per hour to

advertise (Pardo 2011). This is part of an overall effort to prevent long commercial times for

audiences. This also limits the amount of messaging they are exposed to.

As far as the enforcement of these regulations goes, Argentina utilizes some government

regulation in addition to self-regulation. Government agencies only become involved when an

advertiser refuses to abide by the self-regulators rulings on questionable commercials. The self-

regulating body in Argentina is known as CONARP. The organization's main objective is to

uphold the Advertising Code of Ethics, which, among many things, has specific standards

designed to protect vulnerable consumer groups such as children and the elderly (Pardo 2014).

The Code of Ethics specifically states that advertising aimed at children “must not exploit their

naivety or lack of experience” and “should not present information or images that might result in

their physical, emotional, or moral harm” (Pardo 2014). CONARP receives complaints about

advertisements deemed unethical or inappropriate and conducts a review before determining if

the accusations are true. If there is evidence of a violation, CONARP has the ability to request

content changes or cancel the advertisement altogether. If the advertiser chooses not to obey the

ruling handed down by the self-regulating body, government agencies will step in to ensure that

consumers, especially children, are protected (Shaver 2014).

A recent example of the government intervening after receiving complaints is

Argentina’s decision to ban sex ads in newspapers. In 2011, the Argentinian president banned the

publishing of sex ads in all newspapers and some Internet sites (Goni 2011). Prostitution is legal

in Argentina, however, many government leaders were opposed to the selling of ads in media

easily available to the general public such as newspapers and internet sites. Free speech

advocates, who commonly oppose the government any time they attempt to regulate the media,

27
argued that this ban was unconstitutional because it violated the free expression rights of the

media (Goni 2011). Many supported the ban because they believed that the advertisements were

inappropriate as well as contributing to the sexual exploitation of women in the country (Goni

2011). This case reflects the constant struggle to implement advertising regulations in South

America, specifically in Argentina and Brazil.

The importance of regulation is well understood in the countries I have discussed, but the

remnants of non-democratic governments still exist. In turn, consumers in this region are quick

to protect their rights to free speech and expression before concerning themselves with

advertising to vulnerable consumer groups like children. While we are seeing regulations

constantly being adopted and altered in these countries, there is still much work to be done in

ensuring that children are being protected from the influence of advertisers. As western societies’

model for regulating advertising becomes the standard in the South American region, regulations

are getting more precise. The overarching takeaways and key insights from this paper will now

be summarized and discussed.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, though this paper touched upon cultures and locations all over the planet,

there are still conclusive themes that can consistently be taken away from each region discussed.

To begin, digital is overtaking all other forms of media consumption on a global level. Due to

economic situations and import laws, the rate at which digital media is taking over traditional

entertainment mediums varies between areas of the globe. However, it is clear that the whole

world is becoming more and more digitized. With this increase in digital media comes

entertainment and gaming geared towards children that is more difficult to regulate, especially on

personal devices. No longer is it as simple as parents turning off the television when something

28
they don’t want their kids to see comes on. On the topic of media landscapes, another takeaway

is that countries with less developed media landscapes, like Argentina or Brazil, have more

progressively changing laws regarding advertising towards children. This is logica l, seeing as

the more new technologies are introduced into these areas, the more laws need to be quickly

established on how to handle them.

Moreover, this discussion has shown that the debate of advertising towards children is not

only one of ethics versus economics, but often, one of self-regulation versus big government. It

is interesting to look at how various regions take ethical issues like children being targeted by

marketers far more seriously (like Scandinavian nations) than others who focus on economic

prosperity and the revenue advertising to children brings in (like the United States). Like any

regulatory issue, self-regulation by independent agencies is in opposition with regulation by

large government entities.

In addition, from an international marketing standpoint, agencies have large takeaways

from this discussion. Of course, agencies must be always work strategically and think on their

feet. If advertising towards children is banned in a country, this point is further proven, as

agencies must be quick to retarget their marketing efforts. Finally, as has been the on-going

theme of not only this paper, but of the international marketing course, is that when operating

internationally, marketers and agencies must be aware of the cultural norms and legislations of

the countries they are operating in. Failure to do so could lead to failed or offensive marketing

plans, a decline in sales, or even a lawsuit. So, though it is important for all humans to be

conscious of international customs, laws, and news, it is especially important for those looking to

be successful in the marketing field. Also, it is urged that advertisers everywhere think twice

29
about not only their legal abilities to market towards children internationally, but the social and

ethical responsibilities they hold when dealing with children.

Global Regions Cultural Norms Laws & Legislations Case Studies

United States - Marketing to children is - FCC regulates media - McDonald’s McStaff

a common practice - FTC regulates
- Children view 25,000 advertising
TV commercials/year - 1st Amendment granting
- Children view 40,000 freedom of speech
ads/year protects many
- Children have strong advertisements
purchasing power - Many laws are poorly
enforced and often broken
Night
- Teachers sell food
- Proceeds go to the
school
- Generates large crowds
- McDonald’s reeps most
the of the benefits

Europe - Less obnoxious -Television Without - Fight against the obesity

marketing tactics Frontiers
-More popular public - De Agostini court case
broadcasting - 2001 Swedish push for
- Heavier cross-country total EU children’s
influences due to advertising ban
geographical proximity -Self-regulation v.
Governmental regulation
by country
epidemic in Europe
-Platforms of action being
taken by Ireland,
Germany, EU, & UK
- Correlation of obesity
rates & food
advertisements

Asia - High context culture - China SAIC was formed - Fiji and the coke games
- Company's image is very for advertising - China, India and
important - SAIC implemented Thailand with Mcdonald's
- “soft sell approach” censorship standards happy meals
- Relies heavily on - Article 8 - India and Kellogg's
celebrities, catchy - Japan Advertising brand cartoon characters
slogans, trendy music and Review Organization -Malaysia and KFC movie
imagery to sell products (JARO) tie-ins
and services - Japan limited regulatory
- Parents try to have full controls on adv. to
control of children's children
media

South America -Advertising is a quickly -CONOR-Brazil’s self- -Adolescents & Alcohol

emerging market in the regulating body advertising in Brazil -
region -CONARP- Argentina’s 2006 study
-Self-Regulation preferred self regulating body
over government -Brazilian Constitution -Banning of sex ads in
regulation & Argentinian Argentinian newspapers
-Dynamic regulations Constitution (rights to free and websites
towards advertising to expression)
children -Advertising Code of

30
 -Shift toward westernized Ethics (Brazil &
standards Argentina)
-Brazil’s Statute on
Children and Adolescents

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