Advertising for Kids
No matter what children are doing, they are always surrounded by advertisements. Whether it is watching television, Reading a book/magazine, or browsing the internet; advertisements are everywhere. Eric Schlosser has a good point when he argues in his essay “Kid Kustomers” that more advertisements are being directed towards children each day. It is not only directed toward children, but influencing children to beg their parents for products they do not need or even want. As in, the stuff they see on television are not essentials for life. Children want them simply because they “look cool.”
Schlosser explains how in the 1980’s parents felt bad for leaving their children at home all day without spending any quality time with them, so they started buying them good toys, clothes, or whatever else they wanted to make up for this (519). Prior to this, there were only a handful of companies that targeted children, and now almost every company is. For example, Schlosser describes a study published in 1991 from the Journal of the American Medical Association stating, “nearly all of America’s six-year-olds could identify Joe Camel, who was just as familiar to them as Mickey Mouse” (520). Schlosser later explains one-third of the illegal cigarettes sold to minors were Camel. However, more recently, there have been surveys conducted throughout the malls of America asking children to describe every detail they could about their favorite advertisements. One marketer explained, “It’s not just getting the kids to whine, it’s giving them a specific reason to ask for the product” (520). The marketer simply means, the advertisers goal is to make children to want the product. The product has to be loud, colorful, and interesting or they need to be able to do something with it to make them want it. For example, the study concluded the talking Chihuahua in the Taco Bell ads were the most popular out of the fast food ads, but the most popular out of all the ads was the ad for Budweiser.
Schlosser explains how in the 1980’s parents felt bad for leaving their children at home all day without spending any quality time with them, so they started buying them good toys, clothes, or whatever else they wanted to make up for this (519). Prior to this, there were only a handful of companies that targeted children, and now almost every company is. For example, Schlosser describes a study published in 1991 from the Journal of the American Medical Association stating, “nearly all of America’s six-year-olds could identify Joe Camel, who was just as familiar to them as Mickey Mouse” (520). Schlosser later explains one-third of the illegal cigarettes sold to minors were Camel. However, more recently, there have been surveys conducted throughout the malls of America asking children to describe every detail they could about their favorite advertisements. One marketer explained, “It’s not just getting the kids to whine, it’s giving them a specific reason to ask for the product” (520). The marketer simply means, the advertisers goal is to make children to want the product. The product has to be loud, colorful, and interesting or they need to be able to do something with it to make them want it. For example, the study concluded the talking Chihuahua in the Taco Bell ads were the most popular out of the fast food ads, but the most popular out of all the ads was the ad for Budweiser.
Cited: Schlosser, Eric. “Kid Kustomers.” From Inquiry to Academic Writing. 2nd ed. Ed. Stuart Green and April Lidinsky. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012. 519-527. Print.