Youth Advertisement Analysis

Society finds itself bombarded by the endless amount of advertising on the internet, television, and magazines. The purpose of many ads is to encourage the consumers to purchase a product, in order to increase a company’s profit. Nevertheless, there also advertisements that discourage the consumption of a specific product. For example, there are numerous billboards along freeways that promote healthier living by deterring the purchase of cigarettes. Regardless, if a company’s objective is to sell a product or persuade the public to make changes to “improve” their health, the effects of advertising, especially in children and adolescents, can be alarming. Advertisements oftentimes target children and teenagers, because they are more vulnerable to them. Marketers take advantage of the susceptibility embodied in children and …show more content…
The exposure of too much advertising during the childhood and adolescence stages creates as experts call it “a false sense of happiness”. Youth lacks an understanding of what is good and what is portrayed to be good. That will in later years affect the development of the youth as they enter adulthood.
The current situation with youth advertising requires a critical evaluation of the types of ads that are directed towards minors. As previously stated, the advertiser’s main objective is to sell the maximum amount of their product; however, they are not taking into account the effect their ads may have on the youth. Take for example, a company who sells sugary juice boxes. To promote the juice, the advertisers decide to create a commercial that glorifies their product by using adjectives like “sweet”, “popular”, or “inexpensive” to describe their good. They choose to televise the commercial on child friendly networks to ensure their young viewers watch their ad, with the intention to convince their viewers to want the