Children’s Exposure to Television Advertising

It is estimated that the average child views more than forty thousand television commercials each year, most of which are fifteen to thirty seconds in length. Advertisers target the youth market because of its strong contribution to the consumer economy. According to 1998 data, children who are fourteen years of age and under spent $24 billion and influenced $188 billion in family purchases.

Approximately 80 percent of all advertising to children falls within four product categories: toys, cereals, candies, and fast-food restaurants. This pattern has remained remarkably stable since the 1970s. During the fourth quarter (October - December) of each calendar year, a seasonal shift in advertising practices occurs with toy commercials airing much more frequently during the pre-Christmas months.

The most common theme or appeal (i. e. persuasive strategy) that is employed in advertising to children is to associate the product with fun and happiness, rather than to provide any factual product-related information. For example, a commercial that features Ronald McDonald dancing, singing, and smiling in McDonald’s restaurants, without any mention of the actual food products that are available, reflects a fun and happiness theme. This strategy is also found frequently with cereal advertisements, which often include the appearance of characters (e. g. Tony the Tiger, Cap’n Crunch) to help children identify the product. In contrast, most commercials fail even to mention the major grain used in each cereal unless it is included as part of the product name (e. g. Corn Flakes).

Another common feature of advertising to children is the use of product disclosures and disclaimers such as “batteries not included” or “each part sold separately.” However, studies make clear that young children do not comprehend the intended meaning of the most widely used disclaimers. For example, Diane Liebert and her associates (1977) found that fewer than one in four kindergarten through second-grade children could grasp the meaning of “some assembly required” in a commercial; in contrast, the use of child-friendly language such as “you have to put it together” more than doubled the proportion of children who understood the qualifying message.

The phrase “part of a balanced breakfast” is a disclosure that is frequently included in most cereal advertisements to combat the concern that sugared cereal products hold little nutritional value for children. Consistent with the data on toy disclaimers, research by Edward Palmer and Cynthia McDowell (1981) shows that most children below seven years of age have no idea what the term “balanced breakfast” means. Rather than informing young viewers about the importance of a nutritious breakfast, this common disclaimer actually leaves many children with the misimpression that cereal alone is sufficient for a meal.