CMNS 223 Advertising: Children's Advertising and Marketing Strategies

This report delves into the multifaceted world of advertising targeted at children, exploring the unique challenges and strategies involved in marketing products to young consumers. It examines how advertisers leverage child psychology, catchy slogans, and appealing visuals to capture attention, considering the influence of parents in purchasing decisions. The paper highlights the importance of understanding target demographics and the ethical responsibilities of advertisers, including the potential impact of misleading or harmful content. It analyzes various advertising mediums, such as television, YouTube, and gaming sites, and emphasizes the need for transparency and product safety. The report concludes by underscoring the significance of truthful and responsible advertising to protect children and foster positive consumer habits, while acknowledging the ultimate goal of driving product sales and generating profits.

(Surname) 1
Name of Student
Name of Professor
Subject
Date
ADVERTISING FOR CHILDREN
Children’s products always have special value in the market because of the amount of
effort and high end technology used to make sure that the product is safe for children and that
the product is useful in some way. Children’s food manufactured by various companies have
to boast of nutrients and safe ingredients while toys and other companies must advertise their
product so well that they sell, because toys are not mandatory for children, they are
engagement activities or tool of learning that can also be done in ways that do not include
toys. Hence, advertising products for children can be a little tricky. This paper will be
exploring the various advertisements and the advertising techniques that are integral for
marketing these products that are targeted towards children.
The demography these advertisements targets are not just children but also their
parents. Every product has target demography like Pampers target infants and their parents
who are dealing with the problems of infants, Barbie targets growing girls and Disney targets
a large demography with their products based on the movies they make which are primarily
for children and is equally enjoyed by their older counterparts. Demography is an important
aspect of advertising because it is important for the agencies to plan the advertisement is such
a way that is attractive and relatable for the demographic.
It has to be considered that the advertisements for children’s products are not always
made for the children themselves, they are often made for the parents because they are the
ones who will buy the products. While the advertisements made for children are always very
catchy. Children tend to be attracted to things that are brightly colored and contain elements
that are interesting (Young). Like little children who will understand advertisements can be
shown the Barbie by Mattel advertisements, in which the Barbie can do various things. Like

S u r n a m e | 2
the Color Barbie’s hair add with magical crayons or the Barbie’s influenced by the Barbie
movies like the Fairy Topia (Wright). It is the same with Funskool and their range of toy cars
under Hot Wheels that come with racetracks of their own. A little older children are
advertised similar products that are relatable to them like the Funskool range of cars that are
advertised during the release of movies like ‘Fast & Furious’ or even need for speed, Disney
sells dresses, stationery and personal care products based on movies like Cinderella, Aladdin
and Toy Story.
Children are born innocent and impressionable. They are curious and bright things
attract them. This does make the advertising strategies of products that are not good enough
easy but actually it does not. Advertisements are of no use if it does not sell the product and
instead harms the image of the company. It must be kept in mind that the parents will view
the advertisements as well to make sure that they buy a product. The product must be
interesting and useful in a convincing way because parents will not waste their money on
things that do not add value in any way. This is especially seen in children’s garment sales.
Like HnM makes sure that the garments they sell are advertised in way that promotes
comfort, style and longevity all together.
Advertisements meant for children are made in such a way that they capture their
short attention span be it with catchy tunes and slogans or visuals that are very appealing to
the senses. This technique is often used by companies that try to sell the kids consumables.
Various products like Pop Tarts and MnM’s are marketed in a way that reveals the interesting
aspects of the same, like the colorful MnM’s are loved by children because of their vibrant
colors (Young). Kinder and other companies that sell chips often advertise the fact that each
package will contain a free gift like tazos or toys inside. This increases consumption of the
consumables because the children become hell bent on collecting them all. Similar spike in

S u r n a m e | 3
buying habits was seen when the cartoon series, ‘Pokémon’ came to the forefront and
children started collecting cards within packets of consumables to collect all kinds of
Pokémon cards (Kelly).
Just as much as children love to collect the toys, often the advertisements are a cause
of concern for parents (Ewen). Like the case with advertisements meant for children showing
stunts or acts that can be very harmful for the kids because they have a tendency to attempt
anything they deem ‘cool’. Kinder eggs by Kinder took the world by storm until then parents
realized through the advertisements that the toys they give are rather small in size and may
come with a choking hazard. It is important for advertising agencies to note that
advertisements are a part of the viewing habit of children and just in the way there is a
censoring in daytime TV to make sure they are not exposed to anything adult, advertisements
should also note that whatever they promote might have a negative impact on countless
children (Kelly). This caused Kinder to be banned in various places.
However easy the selling may seem when there are children involved, one must keep
in mind that it is not easy at all. The consumer is smart and it is against the moral obligation
of the company if they try to sell products that are in no way useful at all. Advertisements are
often misleading in this case like the food advertised on TV are usually models of food that
seem too perfect but in reality they are not perfect at all (Ewen). The consumer lives off
advertisements and the advertisements that correctly capture the attention of the buyer will
inevitably reap profits for the company.
Advertising has countless mediums, like TV, Radio, newspapers, Internet or even
telecalling and SMS. Choosing a medium of advertising is very important to make sure that
the target consider is reached (Schor). Products for children can be advertised through
YouTube right before Infotainment videos that are really liked by children or gaming sites

S u r n a m e | 4
that is heavily accessed by childfree. The TV remains a trustworthy medium of advertising.
The target population has to be reached to ensure proper sale of the products. Advertisements
much show a clear idea about their understanding of child psychology and parent psychology.
Parents try to make sure that their children are content yet they are looking for effective
options that are not very pricey (Young). Producers can effectively advertise combo offers
and discounts through the parents through newspapers or parenting channels to make sure the
availability of the same is known. Visibility of such offers at supermarkets also works for
providing visibility. Parents will be attracted to any product that is safe, effective and not
priced too high because the average cost of raising a baby and proving it with everything
necessary is very high.
Advertising works hand in hand with the people associated with a current brand hence
it is imperative that they abstain for advertising products that is of no use. It is also important
that they make sure that the advertisement of any product does not contain elements or
actions that can be potentially harmful for the child if they copy the same (Amber, Loannides
& Rose). They must ensure that the product being advertised is of a safe quality especially if
it is a consumable. One must also keep in mind that advertising false products or harmful
products for children through mass media will have strong repercussions that will be suffered
by both the advertising agency and the brand.
The world of advertising is an integral part of product sales. It is the very middleman
between the company and the outside world. It is the face of product and countless times, the
people brought products for the sake of advertisements because the advertisements had set a
trend which was heavily followed by people. Advertising is the very catalyst of consumer
knowledge. It is like a catalogue that helps consumers learn about the existence of products in

S u r n a m e | 5
the market and the consumers begin to feel like they require it because advertisements make
sure that a product is shown in the best light.
Albeit the importance of the products that are being advertised in a safe and sound
way for children and the importance of making sure that the products are safe for children,
one must never forget that sole work of advertising is promoting a product enough that it
invokes large sales and eventual profits. Hyperbolic advertising is deemed normal as long as
they do not promise anything that is impossible or lie outright. Children must be safeguarded
from such advertisements and products that might potentially harm them. Advertisements for
children should also focus on the value of the product in their newly developing life.
In conclusion, it is evident that children’s advertising is a world of joy and colors
because of the variety of products like toys, candies and apparels marketed through pictures
that have brilliant backgrounds or videos that play a really catchy song while it plays. It is
also a world that can be tricky to navigate through given the truthfulness of each claim is very
important. It is an integral part of targeting the vast demography of children and requires
utmost attention.

S u r n a m e | 6
Works Cited
Ambler, Tim, Andreas Ioannides, and Steven Rose. "Brands on the brain: neuro‐images of
advertising." Business Strategy Review 11.3 (2000): 17-30.
Ewen, Stuart. Captains of consciousness advertising and the social roots of the consumer
culture. Basic Books, 2008.
Schor, Juliet, and Holt Holt, eds. The consumer society reader. The New Press, 2011.
Kelly, Bridget, et al. "Television food advertising to children: a global
perspective." American journal of public health 100.9 (2010): 1730-1736.
Wright, Lenore. "The wonder of Barbie: popular culture and the making of female
identity." Essays in Philosophy 4.1 (2003): 3.
Young, Brian M. Television advertising and children. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990.