The Influence of Advertising

What is the Influence of Advertising on our children today? The influence of advertising on our lives, for both our children and us, for many years the influence of advertising has changed. Some people may remember when the advertisements of toy companies were directed at the adults instead of the kids, hoping that the adults might buy the products. Today’s advertisements have changed. Advertisements are more pervasive, sophisticated, and are now aimed directly at getting kids addicted to “products” at a very young age (Marconi, JM.). This goes to show that advertisers have realized that it is better to go right for the person who the product is for and not for the person that will be buying it for someone else. So how has advertising changed over the years; the target, the messages, its prevalence, and pervasiveness? Lets find out about the influence of advertising on children and what you can do to counteract or avoid it.
What is the prevalence of advertising in our children’s lives, there have always been advertisers who market to children. Clearly products such as toys and treats have been around since before our grandparents were kids. Just as today, those who made such products developed advertisements to promote them to an interested audience (Beder p101-111). Many years ago however, it was a bit easier to recognize what was an advertisement and what advertisements were limited to displays in a store, a newspaper ad, or a brief spot on TV or radio. Today however, half of the clothing that kids wear includes an advertisement of one sort or another. The influence of advertising is increasingly far reaching. Today, ads are much more pervasive and less recognizable as a sales pitch. For instance, while eating at a favorite child’s fast food restaurant, a child may receive a toy. That toy may also be tied to a movie, a cartoon, a video game, or to a website that offers additional games, toys, or related products. Books, clothing, cars, and more are all tied to

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