Is advertising to children ethical?

Is advertising to children ethical?

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I have noticed a recent rise in materialistic values among children.  My niece who is 7 years old is increasingly becoming very concerned with her style.  Since she began school this year she has been expressing wanting certain materialistic things, such as an iPod and flashy clothes.  Should a 7 year old have an iPod?  Is it okay for her to dress “flashy?”  This new behavior is concerning to say the least, so I have chosen to do some research and find out more about this growing trend. 

Kanner, A psychologist from Berkley has noticed a major shift in what appeals to young children.   Something he calls "narcissistic wounding" of children. Thanks to advertising, he says, children have become convinced that they're inferior if they don't have an endless array of new products.  (American Psychology Association 2013)

This news just confirmed what I was worried about, but then I kept reading and found out something very upsetting!  I read that there is an ethical issue, which protests against using psychologists to help with advertising and marketing to children.  The protestors state that it goes against the APA’s mission of mitigating human suffering, improving the condition of both individuals and society, and helping the public develop informed judgments. (APA 2013)

After taking a course in Advertising and learning a little bit about the industry I have seen how many cases where advertisers choose to focus on profit and not on ethics.  Advertising companies that choose to hire psychologists so they can better market to children is both genius and unethical!  It is genius, because they know how the mind works, and unethical because advertising commonly creates insecure people who believe they need to purchase things to feel happy.

Commercial exploitation is one of the biggest reasons why children have been exposed to this new social phenomenon of materialism.  Some people just say to limit TV time, but advertisements are everywhere now and very difficult to avoid. 

My nice loves to listen to music on the radio and Pandora, and both have endless radio ads.  We see ads while driving and walking around the city.  And most recently I have noticed that my niece sees other people (kids) and what they have and what they wear.  She has commented many times recently how much she wants specific things that her friends have.  Already, at 7 years old she is verbally placing value and worth on if she has the same popular things that the “cool” kids have.

We know that this is an inevitable outcome for most people who live in our culture pursuing the American Dream, however…isn’t 7 years old way too soon to have such large concerns about social status? 

   

- Things to consider-

·      Advertisers refer to children as; The Born to Buy Generation

·      Child Obesity/selling toys with fast food

·      Who is ultimately responsible for SAFE child advertising?

Food Schema

Food Schema

Campaign - Guilty Pleasures – Spoil yourself during the holidays!

Product – Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Negative -Bad diet leads to obesity and health issues

Market ideas – Positive family and cultural ideologies, happy holidays, comfort food, diet after the holidays, healthy options/substitutes. Smells like grandmas kitchen.  Looks like a feast fit for royalty.  Tastes like a cloud of heavenly spice.       

Colors – Brown, green, orange, red

Images: pumpkins, leaves, fall/autom décor’ 

Nostalgia In Marketing

Nostalgia Marketing is a common way to market products.  It relies on reconnecting the past with the present in hopes to catch the interest of a buyer and their inner nostalgic passions.  It helps consumers identify with a product.  

Depending on the product and how popular the nostalgia is, it can make or break the marketing campaign.  Consumers may not identify with the nostalgia at all, leading to a broken campaign.  But, I would argue that they work more than they don’t, because just like other social trends, there are also nostalgic trends among different societies.  A popular one which never fails is music – there are so many songs that are attached to a product for it’s nostalgia.     

I think nostalgia marketing can be a marketing strategy for all products and brands because nostalgia speaks to such a large mass of consumers.  It an work for any age group too, even children!  It’s a great way to market a product or a brand. 

Harley Davidson Case Study –

Brand communities such as Harley Davidson’s most defiantly help create more involvement with the brand.  Brand communities help consumers identify with the brands they love. 

The elements within the Harley Davidsons Posse Ride enhance the meaning of the brand for the riders by offering an in-group feel, offering guidance, acceptance, belonging, and teamwork.  The Posse Ride is something for riders to look forward to, because many riders form close bonds and relationships with other riders who live in other places. 

Harley’s involvement to the ride is crucial.  Being more involved won’t dilute the meaning because the brand and identifying with the brand community is what it’s all about.  However, it is possible to create a new vibe with new marketing which could disturb the original culture. 

In addition to Posse Rides, Harley could also work to increase involvement in the brand by adapting its marketing strategies and offing more brand sponsored events.  Offering special volunteer opportunities with the Harley Davidson brand. They could offer mechanic clinics for brand community members, and monthly raffles, and charity/fundraising events.