Fact Sheet 
Children And
Advertising
Did you know?
- The average
American child may view as many as 40,000 television commercials
every year (Strasburger, 2001).
- Children
as young as age three recognize brand logos (Fischer, 1991), with
brand loyalty influence starting at age two (McNeal, 1992).
- Young children
are not able to distinguish between commercials and TV programs.
They do not recognize that commercials are trying to sell something
(Comstock, 1991).
- In 2001,
teenagers, ages twelve to nineteen spent $172 billion (an average
of $104 per teen each week), up 11 percent from $155 billion in
2000 (Teen Research Unlimited, 2002).
- In 2002,
children ages four to twelve are expected to spend an estimated
$40 billion (McNeal, 2002).
- In 2000,
children 12 years and under, directly and indirectly, influenced
the household spending of over $600 billion (McNeal, 2001).
- 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).
- Children
who watch a lot of television, want more toys seen in advertisements
and eat more advertised food than children who do not watch as
much television (Strasburger, 2002).
- The market
sales of licensed products for infants increased 32% to a record
2.5 billion dollars in 1996 (Business Week, 6/30/97).
- Thirty seconds
of advertising during the Super Bowl cost $2.4 million (Strasburger,
2002).
- Four hours
of television programming contain about 100 ads (Minneapolis
Star Tribune, 1999).
What's Happening
With children
either spending or influencing 500 billion dollars worth of purchases,
marketing techniques have been turned upside down. In the past the
most effective way to sell children's products was through mom and
dad. Now the opposite is true, children are the focal point for
intense advertising pressure seeking to influence billions of dollars
of family spending. Advertisers are aware that children influence
the purchase of not just kid's products anymore, but everything
in the household from cars to toothpaste. Thus these "adult"
products are being paired with kid- oriented logos and images.
With children's
increased access to new communication technologies being paired
with the fast pace and busy schedules of today's families, parents
are less able to filter out the messages from the advertising world.
Children themselves have been asked to assume more purchasing decisions
than ever before.
Marketing tools
beyond the ever-present television have spread into many facets
of children's lives:
- Magazines
aimed at children have blossomed. Many of these magazines are
kid versions of adult magazines. For instance, the popular Sports
Illustrated for Kids, carries ads for minivans.
- Promotional
toys either tie in to cartoons, TV shows and movies or promote
brand consciousness and loyalty.
- Cartoon and
toy characters are used on all kinds of products, seeking to catch
the children's eyes and purchases.
- Databases
of child customers are being built from information gathered on
Internet sign-ups and chat rooms, from electronic toy registries
at stores like Toys 'R' Us, and from direct surveys.
- Advertising
in schools: Advertisers and marketers take advantage of severe
budget shortfalls in schools to offer cash or products in return
for advertising access to children.
- Channel One:
short news briefs are surrounded by commercials that children
are forced to watch in schools.
- Promotional
licensing of products aimed at kids which will include media pitches,
e.g., a brand of pagers will include messages from MTV.
- Logos on
all types of merchandise, everywhere children go.
- Children's
radio networks are becoming popular.
- Children's
toys are starting to carry product placements (e.g. Barbie™ dolls
with Coca Cola™ accessories).
- Give-away
programs include promotional merchandise aimed at children (e.g.,
McDonald's™ "Happy Meals").
Sources
- Comstock,
George (1991). Television and the American child. Academic
Press Inc.
- Fischer,
Paul M., Schwartz, Meyer P., Richards, John W. Jr., Goldstein,
Adam O. (1991, December 11). Brand logo recognition by children
aged 3 to 6 years: Mickey Mouse and Old Joe the Camel. Journal
of the American Medical Association, 266, 3145 - 3148.
- McNeal,
James (1992). Kids as customers. NY:Lexington Books.
- McNeal, James
(1999). The Kids' Market: Myths and Realities. Ithaca,
NY: Paramount Market.
- McNeal, James
(2001). Quoted in McDonald M, Lavelle M. Call it 'kid-fluence'.
U.S. News & World Report, July 30, 2001, p.32.
- McNeal, James
(2002). Quoted in MacPherson K. Poll of children shows whining
wins. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 17, 2002, pA-7.
- Minneapolis
Star Tribune, March 10, 1999.
- McNeal,
James (1998, April). Tapping the three kids' markets. American
Demographics, 20, 36-41.
- McNeal,
James (1999). The kids' market: Myths and realities. Ithaca,
NY: Paramount Market.
- Minneapolis
Star Tribune, March 10, 1999.
- Strasburger,
Victor C. (2001, June). Children and TV advertising: Nowhere to
run, nowhere to hide. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral
Pediatrics, 22, 185.
- Strasburger,
Victor C., Wilson, Barbara J. (2002). Children, adolescents
and the media. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA., p53.
- Teen Research
Unlimited (2002). Cited in Robust teen market offers growth in
'02. FN, April 29, 2002, v58, p15.
Last
revised: 7/08/02
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