The easiest and important step for marketers is to get their target audience to recognize and remember the product by using repetition. When a commercial repeats, a child is unknowingly memorizing the product being sold and its purpose. The more memorable the product is, the more likely it is to come across a child’s mind when he or she is shopping with their parents. What’s a better way to draw children to a product if it’s being repeated and used regularly by their favorite cartoon characters and role models? Branded characters and celebrity endorsements are used in advertising as an unrealistic stamp of approval to encourage children to purchase and use a product. In movies, cartoons, and music videos, a character or a celebrity may use a convenient and useful product that they swear by. This method called product placement was made popular in the 80s in the movie E.T. by director Steven Spielberg. In the movie, the character E.T., indulged in some …show more content…
Viral marketing and major promotions set up a lot of hype for children who are drawn into the characters and commercials to ensure a large following before the film is even released. Movies that are not age appropriate (PG-13 Super-Hero & Action themed shows and movies in particular) are being targeted to children as young as 6 years of age. What is the point of marketing this to children when it 's not even their age group? Although movies such as the Smurfs and Alvin and the Chipmunks are more age-appropriate, they are just as deceptive in their marketing strategies to appeal to children. Marketers, who recognize children as their target audience use attention-getting production features and animation to their advantage. Through online games, contests, food, and clothing, films are the biggest culprits of “stealth advertising” which defined by Professor Andrea Almeida, is when “marketers try to conceal the intent of an advertisement…to present a new product or service by cleverly creating and spreading “buzz” in an obtuse or surreptitious manner.”(Almeida) When an advertisement is just as entertaining, colorful, and memorable as a cartoon, it could be difficult for children to tell if something is being sold to them or not making what marketers