COMMUNICATION MODEL
Marketing, especially advertising is meant for a group of people who are the target audience i.e. whom the product is meant for or whom the marketers want their product to be bought by. After the target audiences are identified, the response desired must be noted. The ultimate response desired is of course the buying of the product or service. The decision-making process that leads the target audience from its present position to a higher state of readiness-to-buy must be known.
The effectiveness of advertising depends upon to what extent the advertising message is received and accepted by the target audience. Research has identified that an advertisement t be effective has to (i) attract attention (ii) secure interest (iii) build desire for the product and finally (iv) obtain action. All advertisements obviously do not succeed on these counts. Some of the advertisements fail to communicate effectively with their target audience. This is one solitary reason behind the great difference between the number of people exposed to the advertisement and those who ultimately take the purchase decisions. An advertisement to be effective must be able to connect with their target audience.
AIDA Model: A somewhat simplified model based on the identical principle of sequential stages of consumer action is known as AIDA model. AIDA stands for
A – Attracting attention
I – Rousing interest
D- Building desire
A – Obtaining action
Advertising as a communication medium can is most cases effectively perform the first three functions. In the case of direct-action adverting, it also must translate desire into action, unaided by any other promotional instruments. In case of indirect-action advertising, however, the action can be aided at the time of purchase by two way communication between the intending buyer and the sales staff.
Designing the Message: Advertising as a communication tool concentrates on four problems:
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What to say (message content)
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How to Say it (message structure)
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How to say it symbolically (message format)
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And who should say it (message source)
CONTROVERSIES REGARDING ADVERTISING & JUSTIFICATION ARE ADVERTISING WASTEFUL?
Advertising has lot of advantages as a tool of promotion. However, it has another side to it which is not that good. Advertising is said to “enhance” the benefits of the products and services advertised and concealing their limitations and drawbacks. It creates a false impression on the minds of the buyers. Many advertisements messages are dubious, irrelevant and at the same time offensive in the few cases. It is said that advertising adds no utility to a product but only adds to its price, therefore, it is burdensome on the consuming society. This is said because the cost of the advertisement is included in the cost of the product which is borne by the consumers.
There cannot be an advertisement which has nothing to tell or which creates no image in the minds of consumers that would influence then to choose a particular product or service. Otherwise, should the brand advertised products developments and improvements in quality, and it offers freedom of choice to consumers from among the many available in order to satisfy their wants and needs.
Following are some of the wasteful practices of advertising that are followed:
- Unnecessarily adding to cost.
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Promotes excessive competition, as they don’t use the resources effectively.
- Causing customers to buy those things that they don’t need.
- Buying a full colour, full page Ad when not needed.
- Bad logos – when they are the ones that attract customers.
- In-direct mail often wasteful as it ends up in a trash when coming form unknown source (usually all advertising mails are from unknown source).
Radio can be used as one of the ways to advertise for the product. Why Radio can also be used are:
1. To create a image of the brand in mind of people.
2. One has a fabulous promotional tool one needs to advertise.
There are wasteful advertising practices in even radio.
1. OVER-BUYING
Building a brand takes time. There is no need to get slots which are close by. One has to have patience as a brand is not build over night. One should spread it over a long period.
2. UNDER-BUYING
Radio is powerful, but don't expect much action with 1 spot a day. Need to buy enough spot to have a better effect and this will lead to a better promotion plan. If the job done is not right then it leads to only waste of money. Limiting your self is not right, specially when it’s a new product.
3. BUYING ONLY MORNING AND DRIVE SLOTS
If the message is only delivered only at the prime time slot then the message is received by the same audience over the time, there is whole lot of audience who never get to hear the message. The radio coverage should be spread through out the day, this will help in reaching out to maximum people. The rates one gets are less and the effect is more.
ADVERTISING CREATES MATERIALISTIC DEMANDS
- Do our glamour girls need colour contact lenses really?
- Was it necessary for an actor like late Raj Kumar to put on an artificial wig?
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Does Katrina Kapoor need a hair style where she tosses back her long hair every two second?
- Was it necessary for detergents to compete with our traditional soaps?
- Should we chew or smoke tobacco, have a peg or two of Goan fenny, keep a few pets and do dancing to the tune of Alisha Chenoy on the floor ?
MERITS OF ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement has given us a lot of choices. One can choice form many alternatives available to them. Earlier also they were available but then all of them were not known.
Advertising is informative about a product, its features which are available or which are going to be added. Advertisement is the source through which the makers & advertisers try to inform the audience about their product. The audience first comes to know about a product through a Ad only. Lets take the add of MAGGI – where they have come up with a product where only one needs to add hot water and Maggi is ready. Now if we see earlier a similar product my Nissan was available by the name ‘CUP NOODLES’. This is where advertisements help us to know.
Advertising delivers a higher standard of living like marketing. It is a motivating force to exert harder to satisfy our new and novel needs. Even money is not needed for its own sake, but for the sake of purchasing power it puts at our command. Advertising channelize the personal disposable income in right directions by providing appropriate information like what product is available and what all choices one has in front of them.
DEMERITS OF ADVERTISEMENTS
Some times advertisements can be misleading also. They try to create a false image about the product it is widely said that advertising not only creates demand ‘it creates Artificial demand’ it self. People are more or less aware that it is them who have to bare the cost of advertising which is included in the cost of the product advertising.
Few advertisements may also be abusive or harmful to children. Consumer has became more aware and can more often than judge that the product so advertised and shown in good light may be following short of expectation and not matching upto the Ad. Though it is true that ad can be abused.
Advertising causes costly competition and higher prices .Competitive advertising is an important element of a competitive market in a free economy. Many times, prices are low because of greater demand for advertised products resulting into higher production with economies of scale. Advertisement makes a luxury, a semi-luxury, and then almost necessity.
ETHICS IN ADVERTISING
Ethic is a choice between good and bad, between right and wrong. It is governed by a set of principals of morality at a given time and at a given place. Ethics are values if not complied with, may not always result in illegalities.
In Advertisement also there is ethical values. Advertising communication is a mix of art and facts subservient to ethical principals. In order to be consumer-oriented, an advertisement will have to be truthful and ethical. It should not mislead the consumer, if it happens the credibility is lost.
Advertisements also should not be indecent and obscene. Of products by celebrities who are opinion leaders is also sometimes criticized for spreading falsehood.
In order to enforce an ethical code, in India we have Advertising Standards Council of India. It is a non-profit organization set up by 43 founder members who are involved with advertising in one way or the other, it puts forward a regulating code.
ELECTRONIC MEDIA TELEVISION
Television came to India with the opening of Delhi Doordarshan Kendra on 1st September 1959. This Kendra was commissioned on an experimental basis and its scope was limited to imparting social education.
Doordarshan network now comprised seven full-fledged centers, three base production centers, seven on going SITE (Satellite Instructional Television Experiments) transmitters and five relay centers.
In January 1976 in the history of television in India, commercial advertisements were introduced. At present Kendra’s at Delhi, Bombay, Pune, Lucknow, Banglore etc. carry commercial advertisements, as per provisions of the code. The booking of commercials is through the advertising agencies and in some cases these are arranged direct by the advertisers. The most major like mile stone of TV transmission was crosses on August 15, 1982, when TV went color on the eve of the Asian Games. Commercial TV was introduced way back in 1976, but took off only in 1983, with the advent of highly popular soap opera “Hum Log”.
Ad films have welcomed the growth of TV as a medium. TV as an advertising medium, is the most popular as it provides the advantage if sound and video with live feeds as well making it very popular tool of mass communication. TV as a medium promotes various programmes like soap operas, talk show, music show as well as news channels. When the globalization took place in 1991, then at the same time privatization in the electronic media also took place. Earlier only Doordarshan channel was operating and the content was social change and development oriented. Now channels like Star Plus, Sony, NDTV, CNNIBN, MTV, Zee TV etc have captured most of the Doordarshan’s market in the big cities and are big revenue earners. These channels cater to all kind of audiences and are in a furiously competitive state.
TV ADVERTISEMENTS AND ITS EFFECTS ON CHILDREN
INTRODUCTION
The aim of this study is to present the effect of TV advertisements on Children.
- What is the extent of television advertising that it’s directed towards children?
- How do children of different age groups interpret the advertisements and its objectives with regard to the traditional and less traditional forms of TV advertisements?
- What are the possible effects of TV advertisements directed towards children?
Within each of these questions there are number of interesting aspects that are discussed in this study. The questions that have been raised touches upon a number of central issues. The research has been restricted to the literature that is concerned with the commercial aspects of TV-advertising and children’s television.
FUNCTIONS OF THE TV- ADVERTISEMENTSThe advertisement’s main function is to make the people aware about the product, its availability, and convince them to purchase the product and become a loyal customer. This leaves a better lasting effect on the mind of the people.
Advertisements that are directed towards children provide a picture of an unrealistic world where extensive use is made of artificial scenery and effects. This may have the effect of not only inspiring the child concerning the advertised product, but also the reality within which the product is presented.
Another important thing is repetition of the message. Repetition of the message is the most usual form of attracting the attention of the child. The research done shows, to lesser or greater degrees, that children’s purchasing preferences are influenced by TV-advertisements.
In studies of the effects of TV advertisements may be assumed to have on the child, it is important to distinguish between intentional and incidental effects. The intended effects are to persuade people to purchase the advertised product. The incidental effects include among others, the socialization message within consumer ideology. Because children both observe and learn from the characters portrayed in advertisements, obvious potential exists for the shaping and reinforcement of gender stereotypes.
It is believed nevertheless that it is necessary to be concerned with the effect of the TV advertisement on children and be not merely restricted to an understanding perspective when explaining the relationship between the child and the advertisement.
EFFECT OF ADVERTISEMENTS ON OUR CHILDREN?
As advertisement is not difficult to understand it can be grasped well by every one, specially children. Time the teenagers spend absorbing ads is more than their total stay in high school. Corporate devise Ad to lure people towards their Product/ Brand. But as with any reality that we rarely pay any serious attention to, there may be a lot more going on there than we are aware of. Just the sheer amount of time we spend in the world of the as suggested we might as well devote a moment of that to examine the world more carefully.
The advertisers are just doing their job that is to sell a given product. On the other hand, we can also say that their primary concern is not explicitly the well being of our children. Their objective is to create ads that are successful for their company, and this means to get the television viewer interested in their product. But already we can see that this is a less than desirable situation. The parents only want that as the children are young and innocent; they want those Ads which will help the children to shape their innocent and feeble minds and are not adversely affected by any ad. They want their children’s well being to be foremost in the mind of the advertisers when they make Ads. They also want that the kids understand the depicted message in the right manner. Thus, if the product is good, then the effect of Ad may also be the same as well.
We don’t usually give any thought to why the Ad is made like these why not like that. For some time we just want to enter into a world which is created by the Ad, even if they are not real. When the same Ad is seen by the children they not only enter the world created by the Ad but also they believe in it. They cannot differentiate between the real and imaginary world. They believe in them as they think that the message that is sent across is coming form people they can trust as their faces are familiar to them. They have product brand ambassadors who are any sports hero or movie star. The advertisers are aiming at our dissatisfaction in our lives which can be satisfied by the product only.
Other then T.V Ads there are other ways through which people are made aware of the product. There are billboards, the magazines covered with pictures, the newspapers in which lot of space is occupied with advertisements.
ADVERTISEMENTS - SLOW AND SWEET POISONS
Advertising is a dynamic, progressing industry, which seems too good to be true. It is the one which uses style, glamour and makes a lot of money form it. It has solutions to problems which consumers face in daily life. We have various things which an advertiser should keep in mind. As there are advertising laws in India, one should keep that in mind as well before producing an Ad.
The most popular advertised products are FMCG which have bulk corporate share. When a product is made lot research is done as to whom the product is made for and who it is targeting. It is easy to target children as they have clear mind waiting to explore their world by trying out new things. Advertisers know that brand loyalty is very strong among consumers of all age groups and if a child is hooked on to a product from the beginning, he will probably stick to the same brand for ever after.
REASONS BEHIND INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISEMENTS ON THE KIDS
Advertisements have its impact on every one with the help of songs, logos, colour, theme to attract them towards them self. The jingles that are used in the Ads leave a strong impression in the mind of the consumers. Like – “ Kya aap close up karte hai”.
The advertisements try to attract consumers by using a story board as stories are easily remember and recalled. They are easy to understand as they do not require too much of knowledge, they are bright, colourful, and have a happy aura about themselves.
“MAGGI” has been a popular product among not only children but also adults. Its two minutes tag is the catch for children. Children can be targeted through phases which are catchy, free gifts offer, by using animation.
Rasna has done well to attract kids from the starting. It has redefined how Ads effect kids in such a big way. Even parents too have got influenced by it. In summer it has became even a bigger hit and has made a mark on the kids for many years in many places. Another example of a product with an addicting phrase is Cadbury’s “Kya Swad Hai Zndagi Ka” and “Khane Valon Ko Khane Ka Bahana Chahiye”, the commercial shows a popular film star forcibly stuffing a dairy milk into his grand g\daughter’s mount (who is skeptic as the product contained worms a few months ago) and convincing her that it is not only tasty but also nutritious so it is harmless.
Animated characters are also used to target children. Animation has been the way which companies from Disney to Cartoon Network capture the attention of children everywhere. The Kellogg’s bear is the spokesperson for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. The image of this bear apperars in all the commercials and on the boxes of cereal. “Chahiye Hi Chahiyye “is phrase used along with the animated character. When a child sees commercials on television, they get placed into their memory bank. When the child goes out with his parents then they want the product,as the memory resurfaces from what it had seen earlier. Other animated characters associated with food products, are the Gillu the Squirrel of Colgate Herbal, Louie the mosquito, Max the lion of MAX ice creams, and many more. There is a huge competition between the companies has caused a need for them to somehow sell their products better.
Children’s want something different so that there stuff is unique. He wants to be the first one to have something new so that he is admired my other kids. Advertisers know this and try to use it to their advantage with all the similar food in the world, there is competition to sell a certain brand. The brand which have established its name in market sell more easily then those who still have to establish them self. Children only want those products whose name is known by every one, by doing this he thinks he will also became popular among others.
EFFECTS ON CHILDREN’S EATING BEHAVIOUR
The impact of TV advertisements on children’s eating behavior and health is of critical interest. Generally the advertisements are shown of fast food, which are high in calories and bad for health. But, at the same time they also encourage them to have healthy food. Animated cartoon used by corn flakes had a great effect on the children. The bear used in Kellogg’s had a huge impact on children and their eating habit. Even adults got influenced by the Ads. There are Ads which encourage children to have egg, which is healthy for them.
CHILDREN AND TV ADVERTISING
Today’s children are unique in many ways from previous generations, but perhaps the most influencing on our young children today is Television advertisements. In coming years the nation’s millions and millions of children age and under will have spent or influenced spending on products many crores of rupees which may make record. There is obviously a great deal of interest in this subjects many books have been written, and many studies and reports done on the effects of TV advertising on children. In the following paragraphs will tell us the reasons why we advertise to children, some different positive and negative effects of TV advertisement on children, how people can cut through the hype of TV ads and pick good things for their children.
Today, everywhere we go we see some type of advertising. A sale at supermarket or billboard for a radio station, are two of the many forms of advertisement. Today advertisers spent lakhs and crores of many per year.
Marketers choose children because they can easily lure them in. When children sees some thing which interests them they usually don’t forget the product easily, thus this makes the children a easy target as when they go to a shop and sees the product in the shop they demand for those products. When they are refused they create scenes, make fuss and starts nagging their parents. Parents usually buy product for them. The product usually targeted at children is usually low involvement product.
As it is said that children are the future of our country. They are the ones who carry on family traditions, continue to learn and expand the knowledge of the human race. Advertising to children has always been a very successful strategy followed by the marketers, by doing so they build a strong brand image and loyalty in the minds of consumers which will secure a lifetime of consumer purchasing. It is easy way to earn huge profits by companies.
Now as the children are becoming more extroverts they make there purchasing decision on their own. They don’t let the parents buy the toys for them; they make the purchases of their own. When a child goes on an outing with his parents he makes the decision as to what he wants to eat and where he wants to eat. He demands them does not ask parents permission.
Seeing the changing trend the marketers target the children. So that when the child becomes a loyal customer his parents also becomes one. Here we can take example of a fast food center – Mc Donald’s here the child wants to go in for a happy meal as they will get a toy, when the kid decides to eat there then the parents also eat there only hence adding two or more customers for Mc Donald’s.
Not only the Ads are targeted at children, they also show children’s in their Ads to have a longer impact in the minds of the viewers. Children are considered as the cutest and attract the attention of all, be it women, men or elderly. Three out of top five most effective Ads are have children as central characters in them (Airtel, Surf Excel, Axis/UTI Bank, Source economic times, 3rd Oct.). A survey recently showed that children influence the purchase decision of their parents. In case of cars 66%, TV Sets 71%, Computers 70% and mobiles 67%. The esteem ad which showed the little girl saying my ‘dad’s big car’ had a huge influence on the kids. A good example of the buying power of children but marketed to children and parents. Similarly in the advertisement of SURF EXCEL is targeted towards housewives but the promotion of the product has been directed through children.
NEGATIVE ADVERTISING AND ITS EFFECT ON CHILDREN
Advertising is everywhere you look, whether it is in the newspaper you pick up daily or on that billboard you see while driving down the highway. Some people may say that the advertising that is thrown at them each day does not influence them, and that they do not fall into it, but everyone does. Many children are often the targets for most advertisers, because they know if they hound at their parents enough they will give in and buy their product, and everyone will be happy.
With television being the most popular way to advertise to young ones, the average child may view as many as 80,000 television commercials every year Schools are now even advertising to children without them being aware that they are actually doing it. Many of the food advertisements that children are being exposed to be products those are of low nutritional value. All fast food joints like Mac Donald’s, Pizza hut these places do not have high nutritional food. When a child performs well in his class or in any other filed then the parents take them to these fast food places, instead they can either give that amount to needy which would get them there blessings or they could invest the money for their child.
In many other food advertisement the misbehavior of children are shown in a positive sense for example, in the advertisement of vegetable oil, Dhara, a sweet boy is shown who runs away from the house as he was scolded but when he was given temptation for jalebi the was back to home, or, an advertisement of Candyman which shows how children are making fun of their teachers. When a young child sees something like this he does not try to distinguish between right and wrong and wants to try it himself as he thinks he will have as much fun as the children on TV enjoy himself. There are also more advertisements telecasted on television that are effecting children’s innocence adversely especially the advertisements which incorporate vulgarity deliberately. For example, the Rupa Euro undergarments advertisement that is extremely vulgar but catchy. Also the advertisements related to contraceptives are obscene when they could be shot with dignity. All these advertisements throw a negative effect on children that may divert them on wrong path and lead them to be inquisitive about topics that are premature for them. It is accepted that advertising of these products is essential but they should be telecast in justified time slots.
Through Television only the impact of advertising are made on children. The children now days spend so much time in front of T.V. that they get influenced by them more and more. Children of the present millennium have become bold and vocal because of change in the pattern of education and urban way of living, and therefore they have become stubborn. They demand for the product again and again and the parents become helpless before them. They imitate the way of behavior of their worshipped models and sometimes behave rudely with their parents. As they are getting everything from their parents on demand they may develop different type of character in the process of growing up. Researcher finds this is a bad tendency that may spoil them. Present study shows that majority of the children interviewed by the researcher have revealed that they wish to act in “advertisements” pertaining to children if they get opportunity. Some advertisers while composing the advertisement do not keep in mind that they are making advertisements for kids (mostly such products are used and consume by children only) which affects adversely on the impressionable mind of the child, they false and obscene situations on the screen embarrass the female children, while male children may enjoy it. Advertisements which shows lavish sets, modern high class garments, colorful environment and beautiful and handsome models may mislead children and may take them to the illusive world. Situation in the family group has been discussed above, besides this when children to schools they interact with peer group thus their ideas, imagination and false concepts gets strength.
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
As noted earlier, sometimes advertising results in conflict, not only among family members, when purchase requests are denied, but also among peers. It has been found that, as children’s exposure to a toy commercial increased, so their desire to play with the toy in preference to friends increased. Their results also suggested that commercial exposure could make children less discriminating socially, as they preferred to play with “not so nice” friends who owned the toy than with “nice” friends who did not.
Many times because of attractive advertisements of tasty junk food, children argue with their parents for having it rather than eating nutritious food. But often the parents overlook this irrelevant request. This causes misunderstanding between parents and children, which give a bad result .Of even greater concern that this, however, has been the posited relationship between advertising and aggression. Overall, research to date has been unable to separate television from the many variables that affect individuals and influence their behaviour. Thus, whether aggressive children watch television, or whether they become aggressive as a result of viewing has remained a contentious and unresolved issue, but it is also true that television programs and advertisements play a big role in altering children’s attitude.
In addition, advertisements are related to violence and aggression, which is increasing gradually in children’s behaviour. There are also many advertisements forces children especially boys to do unhealthy things. For example advertisement of THUMS UP where the famous actor becomes very strong and intelligent after the take of the cold drink and is able to handle many peoples at a time. Or another example is of another soft drink THE MOUNTAIN DEW, in which young boys do impossible adventure things even more dangerous than the silly stunts performed in various motorbike advertisements like the BAJAJ PULSAR and SUZUKI FIERO ads. These type of advertisements throws a great divers effect on children. There are examples of many accidents of children that took place in different cities, the base behind these accidents were those dangerous advertisements. Thus it is clear that advertisement not only the psychology of children but also their behaviour, which is many times fatal but thankfully more children prefer the “HOODIBABA” advertisement for BAJAJ CALIBAR 115.
While definitions of violence are formulated almost exclusively from an adult perspective, research suggests children’s perceptions of violence differ considerably from those of adults. It is found that children perceive violence directed at inanimate objects as very different from violence directed at humans and concluded that the closer the violence is to ‘reality’ the more likely is to upset children.
It is observed that a casual relationship existed between children’s viewing of television violence and their subsequent behaviour. In particular, he noted children’s tendency to imitate behaviours displayed by heroes or role models and argued for stricter controls on the use of violent toy characters in programs and advertising directed to children
NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON THE HEALTH OF THE CHILDREN
A child’s mind is plastic, moreover they take suggestions immediately. In the modern times for the last three decades Indian families are consuming fast food, cold drinks on and off. Children become a prey to fanciful advertisements of candies, mints and chocolates and various flavors of ice creams attract children. Through innovative advertisements children are attracted through the packaging, wrapper, color, fragrance of the product. A modern world is a world of competitive advertising. Each advertiser wants to emphasize about the quality, content and general and the children in particular.
POSITIVE IMPACTS OF ADVERTISEMENT ON CHILDREN
After discussing negative impact of advertisement on children there are some of the advantages which can be listed as positive impact of advertisement on children which are stated below :
1. Energetic drinks: There is always conflict between parents and children on taking milk and adding energy food such as HORLIKS, BORNVITA, COMPLAIN, KELLOGS CORNFLAKES ETC. The children resist and do not take milk and energy food and parents are helpless but when innovated advertisements telecasted on television by various producers of these products, some of the children during the course of present research, have stated that they are fascinated by the advertisements and its presentation on TV and started taking milk and energy food such as HORLIKS, BORNVITA, COMPLAIN etc.
2. Impact of various advertisements of tooth pastes on children: For the last three decades commercials concerns are producing tooth pastes under different brands, of which some are produced by multinational companies, some by national companies, few by regional producers and the profounder of Swadeshi movement are advertising their toothpastes under the level of Swadeshi. Indeed, there is lot of competition between the makers of tooth pastes which has made the composers of advertisements alert and they are taking lot of pains and exhibiting and presenting attractive scenes and sweet and lovable dialogues between the working models. Advertisers encourages the children to brush at least twice daily. All these have lot of impact on small children and they are eager to consume toothpaste once or twice a day. Some of the producers of tooth pastes for e.g. PEPSODENT tooth paste which is manufactured by Hindustan Lever Ltd encourage housewives for gift or award through a popular magazine of Maharashtra in which every month three housewife’s bio – data and photograph along with their children are published who constantly make their children to brush pepsodent paste in the morning and in night when they go to bed. In the print media caption PEPSODENT MOM attract the attention of readers.
3. Use of antiseptic: Many children in modern times have become aware of the use of antiseptic because they have realized that these products are very useful for cuts and wounds. They got this perception through various advertisements which are able to impress upon kids their utility and usefulness by presenting that content of antiseptics kill germs (KITANU). Many children are injured while playing in the locality and in homes also and hence they use Dettol, Savlon, Handyplast.
To sum up it is imperative to note that today’s kids have better knowledge about the care of teeth, neatness and cleanliness, acquisition of vigor and strengthuse of antiseptics. They get updated information through various medias especially through television. In urban India with nuclear family setup parents are also equally careful and aware for the socialization of their children. In the third millennium there are lot of chances of interaction because of too much advertising hence the children are aware of the world around them due to this factor they have become alert and smart. Thus the children are benefited and loved by all.
MEDIA VIOLENCE AFFECTS CHILDREN
Over the years there has been an increasing amount of violence in media directed towards children. There have also been an increasing number of violent acts directed toward children and the high degree of these acts that children see on television, in movies, computer games, videotapes, and the large number of violent toys. The increasing number of violence endangers children from growing up in a mentally stable way. There are three consistent problems when children watch television violence: children will notice others pain less, they may become scared of things in the world they live in, and they are more likely to show aggressive behavior towards other people. Government should to start putting limits on the amount of violence put on television during the time when children will most likely be watching. If we continue to allow the violence on the television that is consistently shown to our children, then our future nation will have a large quantity of angry adults and criminals.
CONCLUSION
In the preceding paragraphs, we have seen some of the reasons why we advertise to children, some different positive and negative effects of TV advertisement on children, how people can cut through the hype of TC ads and pick good things for their children.
To mitigate the negative impact of advertising on children infants, toddlers, and preschoolers should not spend far more time in watching DVDs and clicking remote controls and computer mice, they should be motivated for reading books, doing extra curricular activities and playing outside by parents and teachers.
The advertising industry has responded to these arguments by citing the benefits exposure to advertising may bring to children. For example, advertisers have claimed that advertising presents information that enhance children’s social development, thus helping to prepare them for adulthood. Independent researcher has also argued that advertising does not rely only on negative role models or images, but instead frequently features characters opposing injustice, as well as people who display kindness, sensitivity and a concern for others.
CODE OF ETHICS
(FOR ADVERTISEMENTS AIMED AT CHILDREN)
Advertising standards council of India (ASCI), this is the body who see that wrong ads do not appear on the Television and if appear they are withdrawn.
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Advertisement must not direct the children in a wrong direction.
- Advertisement should not contain any thing indecent, vulgar or repulsive, which may cause great to on the psychology of children.
- No advertisement shall encourage children to enter strange places or converse with strangers.
- No advertisement shall depict children leaning dangerously out of windows, climbing hills or playing with matches or explosive substance.
- No tobacco or alcohol based product should feature minors (below 18 years)
- Children should not be shown begging or child labour in advertisements.
- No advertisements shall encourage kids for violence and crime.
OPINION OF THE PARENTS WHEN INTERVIEWED:
Results of present research on TV advertising aimed at kids
Parents think that children believe everything is readily available when shown on TV”.
I don’t consider it to be as much of a problem as many as I feel that peer pressure at School is as bad or worse”
“It gives children the idea that they can have everything they see advertised on TV
“It does have impact but I am not sure at what age that impact starts.
Ten research respondents responded to researcher’s questions asking whether TV advertising actually does have effect on children’s behavior. Many respondents, parents or grand parents themselves, said they did feel that ads led their children to ‘pressurize’ them for products they’d seen attractively presented. Others mentioned the influence of peer pressure on children’s desires. Some respondents were unsure and were interested in finding out more about research into children’s responses to ads.
“It makes then question whether you are being a good parent to them when you say no because something is too expensive”
“It can place a lot of pressure on parent, not just those not working, but those that are working but only just managing to cope with debts etc”
Many parents said they felt under a lot of pressure from their children’s demands, particularly when the family budget was already stretched to the limit.
“ … an essential part of a child’s upbringing is that not everything can be afforded… Advertising gives the parent the opportunity to explain this and prepare the child for the reality of life”
“ I think it depends on how many times you say ‘yes’ to a child wanting something for the sake of them not nagging you rather than saying ‘no’ and them understanding that there is a limit imposed. All you need to do is explain is why the child cannot have it right now.
Other parents, while agreeing that advertising does make children more demanding, emphasized that it is the parents’ reactions to these pressure that is the key factor. Some found that the solution to the problem was not to have a TV in the house or to keep it switched off.
“The promotion of sugary and expensive junk food on TV can make it quite difficult to get them interested enough to eat a healthy meal”
“Seeing junk food presented attractively makes it very difficult to get them to eat ‘less attractive’ food”
The problems caused by attractive ads for sugary or fat-filled foods concerned many parents. Some said it was a real battle to get their kids to stick to a healthy diet while they were being bombarded by slick and well-targeted ads for unhealthy food products.
“I feel some companies advertise toys in such a way using camera effects that it makes children think they will be able to do the same with the toy when they get it home. It may sound stupid to some people but when you are only six, it is very disappointing
“The ads suggest toys do a lot more than they actually do-they tempt children with false promises”
A number of parents, were concerned that adverts sometimes misrepresent what toys can really do and mentioned the disappointment this causes when children get a toy which fails to live up to their expectations.
“School should encourage debate on the issues surrounding consumerism to enable children to take control of their lives”
“The only solution is to educate children to be cynical about what they see advertised”
Apart from getting rid of The TV, what solutions were suggested to the problem of TV advertising to children ? A significant number of respondents wanted stricter controls on advertising aimed at children and some called for a ban on this type of advertising. Others emphasized the need for education to help kids decode the ads they see.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
DATA ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN RESPONDENTS
TABLE - 1
TABLE SHOWING AGE OF CHILDREN ACCORDING TO GENDER
(N = 50)
Above graph and table indicates that 5 male children and 5 female children are of 4-6 years age group, 11 male and 5 female children belongs to 7-9 years of age group, while 8 male children and 16 female children are between 10-12 years. It shows that in the present sample 80% children belongs to 7-12 years of age.
TABLE - 2
TABLE SHOWING VARIOUS EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS (CLASS) OF CHILDREN (N = 50)
From the above graph and table it can be concluded that 17 children are studying in KG-II, 19 children are reading in III-V, and 14 children were found reading in VI-VII std. In the sample the educational level of the children studied in sufficiently good.
TABLE - 3
TABLE SHOWING DURATION OF WATCHING TV BY CHILDREN
(N = 50)
Note: Frequencies are overlapping
Above table shows that 8 Children watch TV in morning, 2 hours 24 kids in afternoon for 2 hours, 36 children in evening for 2 hours while 36 kids watch TV for 2 hours when researcher discussed the duration of watching TV it revealed that watching TV by children related to their school timings.
TABLE - 4
TABLE SHOWING VARIOUS KIDS OF PROGRAMS WATCHED BY CHILDREN
(N = 50)
Note: Frequencies are overlapping
After knowing the data regarding the watching of TV by children, researcher probed regarding the type and quality of the programs watched by the children. Most of the children watch cartoon and discovery followed by mythological. Sometimes on holidays children watch social films and serials. It was revealed during the course of interview that almost all the children watch popular comedy serials eg. “Yes Boss, FIR, Baa Bahu Aur baby, That so Raven etc.
TABLE - 5
TABLE SHOWING THE PATTERN OF WATCHING TV BY THE CHILDREN
(N = 50)
Note : Frequencies are overlapping
Above table indicate that generally children watch TV with their parents (mother or father) and with siblings. Similarly some children watch TV with their friends and other family members. While few children watch TV alone being “single child” in the family.
TABLE - 6
TABLE SHOWING THE PRIORITY WHILE WATCHING TV BY CHILDREN
(N = 50)
From the above table it is revealed that most of the children watch advertisement and various ads are liked by them. When the priorities were discussed they have frankly confessed that many times they give priority for watching advertisements in different channels. Only 10% children are basically interested in program rather than advertisement.
TABLE - 7
TABLE REGARDING THE ATTRACTION OF ADVERTISEMENT TO CHILDREN
(N = 50)
Table no 6 and 7 studied together it can be safely concluded that 88% children of the sample are highly fascinated by the presentation of advertisements and when the question regarding the attrition for ads were asked they were highly pleased in answering the question.
TABLE - 8
TABLE SHOWING THE INCLINATION OF CHILDREN FOR TAKING IN ADVERTISEMENT
(N = 50)
Above table shows the inclination of children for taking part in advertisement. 60% children want to take part while 40% do not want to take part. For the last one decade so many producers of various programs including programs meant for children are interested in Delhi. Talented children and their parents may approach such producers for their inclusion in such programs.
TABLE - 9
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION SHOWING THE DEMAND FOR THE PRODUCT BY CHILDREN AFTER WATCHING ADVERTISEMENT
(N = 50)
Children are fascinated by various advertisements. The data collected regarding the demand for the product by children and tabulated in above table. It shows that 82% children demand for the product because they are highly influenced by the advertisements. During the course of interview it was asked about their fulfillment. Parents fulfill the demand of their children which is amazing.
DATA ANALYSIS OF PARENT RESPONDENTS
TABLE - 1
TABLE SHOWING THE AGE OF PARENTS (MOTHER OR FATHER) ACCORDING TO THEIR SEX
(N = 10)
From the above table it is revealed that 2 female parent and 1 male parents belong to 26-30 years of age. 2 females and 1 male belong to 31-35 years of age, while 2 female and 1 male belong to 40 years of age and above.
TABLE - 2
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF PARENTS (MOTHER OR FATHER) ACCORDING TO THEIR EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION
(N = 10)
Above table indicates that educational qualification of parent (mother or father) 30% parents were graduates while 20% studied upto post graduate, have done research degree, and were found technically qualified. Majority of the parents have a very educational background.
TABLE - 3
TABLE SHOWING NUMBER OF CHILDREN
(N = 10)
Above table indicates the family pattern of children who watch TV and advertisements. During the course of present research investigator came across families of fewer children. Out of 10 cases studied 4 families are having one child, 2 families have 2 children and 3 families have 3 children.
TABLE - 4
TABLE SHOWING THE VARIOUS OCCUPATION OF THE PARENTS INTERVIEWED
The parents have been classified according to their occupation and the data tabulated in the above which shows that 2 parents (mother or father) are in private services, 3 parents are in Govt. Service. 2 parents were in engaged business while 3 women respondents were housewives.
TABLE - 5
TABLE SHOWING THE INCOME OF THE PARENTS INTERVIEWED
Income of the parents has been recorded in the above table. 10% parents were having the income between 3000-5000 (10%) 6000-9000, (30%) 10000-15000 while (50%) parents are having income above 15000.
If table No 2 pertaining to educational background of the parents, 4 relating to various occupation and 5 relating to income of the parents are studied together it can be very easily asserted that in the present research the parental group is highly educated engaged in very clean occupation and getting good income. They certainly belong to middle and upper middle class families of urban India. Hence they are highly concerned for their children.
TABLE - 6
TABLE SHOWING DURATION OF WATCHING TV BY PARENTS
Question regarding the duration of watching TV was asked to the parent (mother or father) and the data is obtained presented in above table No 6 Date speaks that 3 parents watch TV for 2 hours in the afternoon, while only 3 parents watch TV for 4 hours in the afternoon, they are mostly housewives. Similarly 2 parents watch for 2 hours in evening and 5 parents in the night and 2 parents for 4 hours in the night.
TABLE - 7
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION SHOWING THE PREFERENCE OF CHILDREN ACCORDING TO THEIR PARENTS FOR ADVERTISEMENT/PROGRAMS
Parents were asked regarding the liking of their children regarding advertisements and various programs. Majority of the children i.e. 60% prefer to watch advertisements while 40% prefer to watch programs.
TABLE - 8
TABLE SHOWING THE IMPACT OF ADVERTISEMENT ON CHILDREN ACCORDING TO PARENTS
When the impact on advertisement on children was studied it was found that 4 parents i.e. 40% feel that advertisements do not misguide children while 60% parents feel that advertisement misguide children.
ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGES OF ADVERTISEMENTS ON CHILDREN:
The children of the present millennium have become bold and vocal because they are getting more information than before through various media especially Television. Media has altered their day today life styles and way of thinking. As a user of innovative commodities their habits pattern has been affected which is a contributory factor towards health and happiness.
Besides the above in few cases children get wrong messages through advertisements which affects badly in their behavioral pattern. Those children who consume more candies, mints and chocolates are affected by throat, sinus and other infections. Similarly watching television for a long time and from very less distance affects their eye sights and due to loud sound of advertisement their hearing power also been affected. More careful supervision of the parents may mitigate the disadvantages discussed above.
CONCLUSION
Present term paper (dissertation) is partly based on library research and partly empirical findings. The title of the terms paper is “Television Advertisement and its effect on children (4 to 12 years)”
Advertising practice and profession is now a lucrative field. But behind the glittering field of advertising there is also a darker aspect of it. In this field for their own benefit advertiser and producers bombard message on the minds of their audience through TV commercials. TV commercials are aired before the program, at the end of the program and during the course of the program by taking what is called as commercial break. Target audience can be divided into four basic divisions – men, women, adolescents and children.
In India advertisements have spread its network every branch of electronic media that news channels are also touched with advertisements. The news channels now days have breaks in which advertisements are shown. Formally there were only three news channels, now various new channels have been added.
Besides the above there are 2 western channels BBC and CNN there is lot of competition between the two. BBC is famous for releasing authentic news while CNN always stood first for breaking news. All the citizens of India those who watch these channel they also found lot of advertising on these channels. The programs on different channels took lot of time of viewers on advertising. Sometimes there is a chain of advertisements for about 5 to 7 minutes. Thus it is clearly visible that advertisements have become order for Indian television.
Researcher is very happy to mention that the present research work which was carried out partly through the review of various literature available on the subject as well as information collected through internet and partly by using scientific methods Data collected from the families of children who watch television showed that most of the parent who belong to well to do middle class urban families were highly considerable and co-operative towards their children. Researcher considered present research work satisfactory and may guide future researchers working on the same topic.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
-
Chunawala S.A and Sethia K.C. - Foundation of Advertising Theory and practice.
- Ezine Articles
- National Association for the Education of Young
Children.(2003), Available online: http://www.naeyc.org
- Children and TV advertising: Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 22, 185. Education Digest (2000, January). Junk-food marketing goes elementary. p, 32.
QUESTIONNIRE
TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENT AND ITS EFFECT ON CHILDREN
(Age 4 To 12 Years)
Opinion of Children (4 To 12 Years)
1. Name: _______________________________
2. Sex:
- Age:
- School: _______________________________
5. Class: i) KG-II ii) III-V iii) VI-VII
6. Timing of watching T.V.
i) Morning 2/4/6 hrs
ii) Afternoon 2/4/6 hrs
iii) Evening 2/4/6 hrs
iv) Night 2/4/6 hrs
7. Which kind of program do you like to watch?
i) Cartoons ii) Social iii) Filmi
iv) Mythological v) Historical
8. Pattern of watching T.V.
i) With Brother ii) With Sister iii) With Mother
iv) With Father v) With Friends vi) Alone
9. What do you like most?
i) Advertisement ii) Programmes iii) Both
10. Do the advertisement attract you?
i) Yes ii) No
11. Do you want to act in advertisement?
i) Yes ii) No
12. Do you like to watch the same advertisement again & again?
i) Yes ii) No
If yes why? _______________________________________
13. Do you sing the jingle?
i) Yes ii) No
14. Do you demand for the product after watching advertisement?
i) Yes ii) No
15. Do you parents fulfill your demand?
i) Never ii) Sometimes iii) Often
16. Do you copy the advertisement in front of relatives or when your are in alone?
i) Yes ii) No
17. Which is your favorite advertisement & why?
______________________________________
______________________________________
TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENT AND ITS EFFECT ON CHILDREN
(Age 4 To 12 Years)
Opinion of Parents
1. Name
2. Sex:
3. Age: _________________________________
4. Education: i) Intermediate ii) Graduate
iii) Post Graduate iv) PhD
v) Medical vi) Technical
5. How many children you have?
i) 1 ii) 2 iii) 3 iv) 4
6. Occupation: i) Private Service ii) Govt. Service
iii) Business iv) Housewife
7. Income Group (in thousand): i) 3 To 5 ii) 6 To 9
iii) 10 To 15 iv) More
8. Duration of watching T.V.
i) Morning 2/4/6 hrs
ii) Afternoon 2/4/6 hrs
iii) Evening 2/4/6 hrs
iv) Night 2/4/6 hrs
9. Which kind of program do you watch?
i) News ii) Social iii) Politics
v) Film based v) All
10. Pattern of watching T.V.
i) With Family ii) Alone
11. Do you allow your children to watch T.V.?
i) Sometimes ii) Often
iii) Regular iv) Never
12. If yes then what kind of program do you allow children to watch & why?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
13. What your children like most to watch?
i) Advertisment ii) Programmes
14. Which is the most favorite advertisement of your child?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
15. Do your child like to watch the same advertisement again & again?
i) Yes ii) No
16. Do your child sing the jingle?
i) Yes ii) No
17. Do your child react after watching advertisements?
i) They demand the product
ii) They don’t demand the product
18. Do your child copy the advertisement?
i) Never ii) Sometimes iii) Often
19. Do your child copy the advertisement?
i) Yes ii) No
20. What is your child’s reaction on the vulgar advertisements or adult advertisement?
______________________________________
21. What are your opinions on the presentation of advertisement?
______________________________________
22. Do you think Ads misguide your children?
i) Yes ii) No
23. Do you think advertisements have increased your living standard?
i) Yes ii) No
24. Do you think advertisements are informative?
i) Yes ii) No
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