Immoral Advertising To what extent are advertisements that specifically target children unethical and what negative effects do they have?
Advertising has been around for centuries and is constantly evolving to adapt to new mediums and to influence new audiences. But at what point does the role of advertising become too significant? When these advertisements are affecting children’s health and are reaching them through unethical means. They started with print, in newspapers and magazines, and progressed with the technological advancement of the television. Now advertisements are everywhere, there are included in television shows, movies and video games, as well as on the vast internet. As the technology advances, the advertisements become smarter and better at what they do. Currently, advertisements not only effect adults but also can have a very influential effect on the habits and health of children. Further regulations of marketing and advertising aimed at children needs to be put into place to protect children.
The primary focus of this controversy surrounds energy-dense nutrient-poor (EDNP) food and its targeted advertisement towards children. The marketing strategies employed by companies are created with selling to children in mind, often by nefarious means. Mehta et al. wrote an article titled “Parents’ and Children’s Perceptions of the Ethics of Marketing Energy-Dense Nutrient-Poor Foods …show more content…
Advertisements can be deeply woven into video games (advergames) as goals to complete or plastered around the game. This has been known to positively increase attitudes of the products without recognition by the consumer. Fielder et al. (2007) conducted a study on children aged seven to fifteen and found that while web advertisements were easily discernable, children had found it challenging to identify marketing in advergames and in product placement (Mehta et al.
Advertising has been around for centuries and is constantly evolving to adapt to new mediums and to influence new audiences. But at what point does the role of advertising become too significant? When these advertisements are affecting children’s health and are reaching them through unethical means. They started with print, in newspapers and magazines, and progressed with the technological advancement of the television. Now advertisements are everywhere, there are included in television shows, movies and video games, as well as on the vast internet. As the technology advances, the advertisements become smarter and better at what they do. Currently, advertisements not only effect adults but also can have a very influential effect on the habits and health of children. Further regulations of marketing and advertising aimed at children needs to be put into place to protect children.
The primary focus of this controversy surrounds energy-dense nutrient-poor (EDNP) food and its targeted advertisement towards children. The marketing strategies employed by companies are created with selling to children in mind, often by nefarious means. Mehta et al. wrote an article titled “Parents’ and Children’s Perceptions of the Ethics of Marketing Energy-Dense Nutrient-Poor Foods …show more content…
Advertisements can be deeply woven into video games (advergames) as goals to complete or plastered around the game. This has been known to positively increase attitudes of the products without recognition by the consumer. Fielder et al. (2007) conducted a study on children aged seven to fifteen and found that while web advertisements were easily discernable, children had found it challenging to identify marketing in advergames and in product placement (Mehta et al.