Advertising has become a very large part of American society. There are many different forms such as television and radio advertising through commercials or written advertising through magazines or billboards. According to Nielson, 116.4 million American households have at least one television within the home (“Number of TV”, 2015). An average child watches 1,680 minutes of television in one week (“The Total Audience”, 2015). There is so much controversy on the subject of restricting and monitoring advertisements to children because children do not always have the cognitive skills to approach what they see with caution (Clifford, 2010). Although parents can monitor what a child is watching on television, because of the amount of advertisements
…show more content…
A study conducted in 2007 found that watching advertisements for healthy foods promoted more positive attitudes and healthy eating (Boyland, 2013). One article suggested that the amount spent on advertising for unhealthy food was almost 100 times the amount spend on advertising for healthy food. Many positive aspects can be attributed to healthy advertising, such as weight management, more nutritional diets, and a better quality in children’s overall diet (Liaukonyte, 2012). Television could help significantly with creating a more positive image of healthy food, especially since children are susceptive to commercials and media. An advertising campaign in Australia promoted eating more fruits and vegetables. The campaign was called “Go for 2&5”, and was shown to be successful in increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables eaten by adults on average (Liaukonyte, 2012). The United States has not started a program that is similar to this, but even if directed at adults, this program could then be passed on to children’s advertising to continue efforts of healthy eating. A concern brought up with “healthy” advertisements has been that although fruits and vegetables are within the product, the product may contain other unhealthy ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup (Chambers, 2015). The advertisement attracts a child due to the actual fruits often shown off to the side of the screen, while fun characters or bright colors are the main focus in the middle (Chambers, 2015). The product may be considered healthy by certain standards, but is not always the best choice for a
A study conducted in 2007 found that watching advertisements for healthy foods promoted more positive attitudes and healthy eating (Boyland, 2013). One article suggested that the amount spent on advertising for unhealthy food was almost 100 times the amount spend on advertising for healthy food. Many positive aspects can be attributed to healthy advertising, such as weight management, more nutritional diets, and a better quality in children’s overall diet (Liaukonyte, 2012). Television could help significantly with creating a more positive image of healthy food, especially since children are susceptive to commercials and media. An advertising campaign in Australia promoted eating more fruits and vegetables. The campaign was called “Go for 2&5”, and was shown to be successful in increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables eaten by adults on average (Liaukonyte, 2012). The United States has not started a program that is similar to this, but even if directed at adults, this program could then be passed on to children’s advertising to continue efforts of healthy eating. A concern brought up with “healthy” advertisements has been that although fruits and vegetables are within the product, the product may contain other unhealthy ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup (Chambers, 2015). The advertisement attracts a child due to the actual fruits often shown off to the side of the screen, while fun characters or bright colors are the main focus in the middle (Chambers, 2015). The product may be considered healthy by certain standards, but is not always the best choice for a