Advertising to Children Must Be Banned

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Recommended: The effect of advertising

As a little girl I loved watching television shows on Saturday mornings. I’d get upset when a show would proceed to commercial. That is until I watched the shiny new toy being played with by the girl my age and of course the cool new one that came into the happy meal, then I’d forget. After seeing the appealing commercial I’d run to my mom and try to slickly mention it. “You know McDonalds has a new Monster’s Inc. toy in their happy meal. Isn’t that great? “Now I realize that back then I was targeted by big companies to beg my parents for things that I didn’t need or that wasn’t good for me in order to make money. Advertising today is affecting the health of today’s children because they eat the unhealthy foods advertised to them on: television, the internet, and even at school. Therefore, an impassioned discussion of possible solutions has been brewing. Advertising is the paid, impersonal, one-way marketing of persuasive information from an identified sponsor circulated through channels of mass communication to promote the adoption of goods, services or ideas. (“What is Advertising?”) Chuck Blore, a partner in the advertising firm Chuck Blore & Don Ruchman, Inc. once said that “advertising is the art of arresting the human intelligence just long enough to get money from it.” (Shah, Anup.). Children are targeted and manipulated everyday by corporations like McDonalds, Burger King, and General Mills and don’t even know it. Child Psychologist Allen Kanner reported in 2000 that three-year-old American children typically recognize one hundred company logos. ("Advertising.") Children between four and eight don’t recognize that ads are paid commercials intended to convince them into buying something. Children see about 6,000 advertis... ... middle of paper ... ...ive and up. (Thomas, 13) There are possible solutions for the problem of advertising to children some being already used in other countries. Works Cited Advertising." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. Cooper, Dr. Anthony. "What Is Advertising?" What Is Advertising? University of North Carolina at Pembroke, 2013. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. "How Marketers Target Kids." MediaSmarts. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. Kravis, Anders. “Stop Advertising to Children.” Online video. Youtube. Youtube, 5 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. McGinnis, J. Michael., Jennifer Appleton. Gootman, and Vivica I. Kraak. Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity? Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2006. Print. Shah, Anup. “Media and Advertising.” Global Issues. 04 Mar. 2012. Web. 04 Dec. 2013

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