Background:
Nowadays, 70% of the ads during children’s TV programs are food advertising, while the rest are mainly for toys, video games, etc. This arouses people’s concern for children’s physical and psychological health. Fast food chains alone spend more than 3 billion dollars a year on advertising, much of it aimed at children. The results is a nation of overweight children, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada—which says that almost one in four Canadian children between 7 and 12, is obese. A 2002 U.S. study showed that fast-food commercials during kids programming on Saturday mornings are pitching bigger and bigger portions, a trend that researchers link to an the alarming rise of obesity among young people.
Pros:
1. Health concern
1) Obesity, cardiovascular diseases:
In Britain, the Labour Party banned fast food ads during children’s programs in 2006. Child obesity rate doubled in the past decade.
2) Ads flash much more quickly than regular programs, and the high frequency of light change is a strain on children’s eyes. (*Identify significant and insignificant points. This is a minor point)
2. Materialism
1) Desire for more than they need;
Marketers have discovered something about children that parents have long known—they love to collect things. Kids’ collections used to consist of marbles, stamps or coins. But now they amass huge collection of store-bought items such as Beanie Babies, Barbies or Pokémon cards and figures.
2) Desire for more than their parents can afford;
The marketing strategy behind the Pokémon was simple and lucrative—create 150 Pokémon characters, then launch a marketing campaign called "Gotta Catch 'Em All," to encourage children to collect all 150 of the cheaply made, over priced figures. This costs a fortune.
3) Parents may spoil their children, or children may bear a grudge against their parents
3. Cultural influence
1) Women’s image (images of little girls and their young mothers in the ads);
The image of Barbie dolls and the concept of beauty for little girls.
2) Misuse of idioms;
3) Imitation of babbling, lallation, and incomplete sentences, etc. (critical period of language acquisition)
Cons:
1. Children’s right to choose as little consumers
1) Equal rights in purchase, under parental guidance;
2) Parents may not know what their children need and like;
Children understand these things much better than their parents think they do. Old-fashioned parents need someone else to introduce children to the modern world of commercial communication. And who is better placed to do that than advertisers?
3) Parents ultimately pay for the goods, and therefore junk food will not overwhelm;
Whether ort not cheese is healthy, parents should be the ones deciding what kids eat, not the government.
2. Source of revenue for children’s programs
1) Most effective way to promote sales for enterprises (win-win situation)—manufacturers can spend more in R & D to improve and innovate.
2) Educational TV programs depend on advertising.
Food advertising is a necessary revenue stream - without ad revenues from food companies, TV channels couldn’t afford to make kids' programming. Kids would suffer. A ban on ALL advertising during children's shows would result in NO children's shows.
3. Educational
1) To arouse resonance, most ads during children’s TV programs contain educational elements (eg: Barbie’s ads: children should be helpful)
2) Early exposal is not necessarily bad; it helps foster a right attitude ASAP.
Plus) A ban would be futile anyway. There’s no way you can stop kids being exposed to food advertising If not during the ads, then in actual programming content, in adult time slots, and in other media.
-There are already regulations in place; China’s advertising law prohibits harmful ads to the physical and psychological health of the minors.
-There are other factors at work besides television advertising, such as the popularity of computer games and the lack of interest by kids in sport and exercise.
copyright by Wang Yingchong
Nowadays, 70% of the ads during children’s TV programs are food advertising, while the rest are mainly for toys, video games, etc. This arouses people’s concern for children’s physical and psychological health. Fast food chains alone spend more than 3 billion dollars a year on advertising, much of it aimed at children. The results is a nation of overweight children, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada—which says that almost one in four Canadian children between 7 and 12, is obese. A 2002 U.S. study showed that fast-food commercials during kids programming on Saturday mornings are pitching bigger and bigger portions, a trend that researchers link to an the alarming rise of obesity among young people.
Pros:
1. Health concern
1) Obesity, cardiovascular diseases:
In Britain, the Labour Party banned fast food ads during children’s programs in 2006. Child obesity rate doubled in the past decade.
2) Ads flash much more quickly than regular programs, and the high frequency of light change is a strain on children’s eyes. (*Identify significant and insignificant points. This is a minor point)
2. Materialism
1) Desire for more than they need;
Marketers have discovered something about children that parents have long known—they love to collect things. Kids’ collections used to consist of marbles, stamps or coins. But now they amass huge collection of store-bought items such as Beanie Babies, Barbies or Pokémon cards and figures.
2) Desire for more than their parents can afford;
The marketing strategy behind the Pokémon was simple and lucrative—create 150 Pokémon characters, then launch a marketing campaign called "Gotta Catch 'Em All," to encourage children to collect all 150 of the cheaply made, over priced figures. This costs a fortune.
3) Parents may spoil their children, or children may bear a grudge against their parents
3. Cultural influence
1) Women’s image (images of little girls and their young mothers in the ads);
The image of Barbie dolls and the concept of beauty for little girls.
2) Misuse of idioms;
3) Imitation of babbling, lallation, and incomplete sentences, etc. (critical period of language acquisition)
Cons:
1. Children’s right to choose as little consumers
1) Equal rights in purchase, under parental guidance;
2) Parents may not know what their children need and like;
Children understand these things much better than their parents think they do. Old-fashioned parents need someone else to introduce children to the modern world of commercial communication. And who is better placed to do that than advertisers?
3) Parents ultimately pay for the goods, and therefore junk food will not overwhelm;
Whether ort not cheese is healthy, parents should be the ones deciding what kids eat, not the government.
2. Source of revenue for children’s programs
1) Most effective way to promote sales for enterprises (win-win situation)—manufacturers can spend more in R & D to improve and innovate.
2) Educational TV programs depend on advertising.
Food advertising is a necessary revenue stream - without ad revenues from food companies, TV channels couldn’t afford to make kids' programming. Kids would suffer. A ban on ALL advertising during children's shows would result in NO children's shows.
3. Educational
1) To arouse resonance, most ads during children’s TV programs contain educational elements (eg: Barbie’s ads: children should be helpful)
2) Early exposal is not necessarily bad; it helps foster a right attitude ASAP.
Plus) A ban would be futile anyway. There’s no way you can stop kids being exposed to food advertising If not during the ads, then in actual programming content, in adult time slots, and in other media.
-There are already regulations in place; China’s advertising law prohibits harmful ads to the physical and psychological health of the minors.
-There are other factors at work besides television advertising, such as the popularity of computer games and the lack of interest by kids in sport and exercise.
copyright by Wang Yingchong