Without the media, advertising would not be as successful because the methods used today are effective. The main forms of advertising are television, radio, newspapers and the Internet. Children are more likely to take notice of television advertisements rather than the radio or newspapers. This is because advertisements are bright, have music or sound, and are attractive to children. The advertisements aimed at children are also on at times when children are most likely to be watching television, for example after school. Television and advertising are also more linked together than other methods of medium. Television advertising will promote TV programmes aimed at children, or advertise toys and games related to programmes on the channel that will appeal to children. However, the problem with television for advertisers is the introduction of the remote control and VCRs, which allows people to change channels easily or edit the adverts out.
Advertising is a great way of promoting products and services but is there too much advertising aimed at children? I think there is too much advertising aimed at children, which is sending the wrong messages to them. Advertising informs children of what toys are on the market. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this as children may want new toys for Christmas or birthdays and they can draw ideas from the advertisements. Advertisements that aren’t necessarily aimed at children, but are often shown during the day help children learn what is right and wrong. Adverts discouraging people to stop smoking for example, are telling children that it is wrong. Another advert informs children of the green cross code, which is promoting road safety. An advertisement aimed at teenagers showing somebody knocked over by a car is alarming, but gets the message across.
However, there are negative things about advertising to children. TV advertisements can influence children’s purchases. With many promoting unhealthy foods, such as Mcdonalds and other fast food restaurants, the media has been blamed for the rise in childhood obesity. A study showed that during the same period in which the proportion of overweight children tripled, there was also an increase in media targeted to children. The food advertisements children are exposed to on TV influence them to make unhealthy food choices. The cross-promotions between food products and popular TV and movie characters are encouraging children to buy and consume more high-calorie foods. During a Saturday morning commercial break showing children’s programs, a study recorded approximately 11 food adverts per hour. Advertisements promoting unhealthy foods use unrealistically thin body types as the ideal. I think this is giving children mixed signals and is contradicting the message. In this way, children are being taught to be thin, but eat fatty foods and sweets. This could also lead to problems with young girls developing eating disorders.
The media affects advertising generally in a positive way. The negative aspects mentioned above, are being taken into account, as England is pushing for stricter guidelines for advertising aimed at children. There is a strong link between the media and advertising. Without the media, the only form of advertising would be posters on walls or billboards. This would not be as effective, especially for children’s advertisers, as they would not be as noticeable. Overall, I think there is too much advertising aimed at children and believe the media has not directly affected the rise in obesity, but does have a part to play in the increase.
