Impact of Advertising on Children’s Health
Anand Nawathe* Rohan Gawande* Sudhir Dethe*,** Synopsis Advertising has become so integral part of our life & society that we cannot imagine any event, newspaper, magazine, TV serial, Cinema etc. without advertising. Advertising is a vital marketing tool as well as powerful communication medium. The basic objective of any advertisement is to stimulate sales, direct or indirect by trying to make tall claims about product performance. The degree of impact of advertising on adults may be problematic but the outcome is devastating for children. Advertisers of children's television used to appeal to the parents earlier but now they appeal directly to children -- who do not have the emotional or cognitive tools to evaluate what's being sold to them. Television is no more just a source of entertainment for children. They showcase the must haves for a kid making them a consumer even before they have reached the age of 3. Thus the influence of the media on the psychosocial development of children is profound. Thus, it is important for the parents to know their child’s exposure to media and to provide guidance on age-appropriate use of all media, including television, radio, music, video games and the Internet. The objectives of this research paper are to explore both the beneficial and harmful effects of media on children’s mental and physical health, and to identify how the advertising industry can be regulated by formulating unified laws to prevent the over-exposure of children to the ad world. We are also emphasizing on directing children’s towards imbibing healthy food habits in them by suggesting parents to be more aware & regulating the advertisement targeted on children. We also have taken a review on what kind of regulations are implemented in some parts of world regarding advertisements targeting children’s & what kind of steps are being taken in India in this direction. Research Design The area of our research is to study how advertising has an impact on impressionable minds of the children & how it affects their psychology & health. Advertising comes in different forms such as television, print, radio & internet. So using such various communicating devices how the products are advertised to the so called new segment in the market. Our research project usually deals with various studies about the nature of the children, his likes & dislikes, parent’s role in the decision making & the influence of advertising on the buying habits seen by the kids. The data collection was done using convenience sampling in the form of questionnaire & personal interview. We had used various secondary sources for gathering data related to the research report. Analysis of data has been done using quantitative methods such as Arithmetic mean. Those analysed facts & findings are presented in different forms for ease of understanding by use of pie charts, chronological order. Our research report just does not concentrate on the findings but also suggests corrective measures to be taken up to minimize the after effects of the advertising world which will be always on the upsurge. The number of children exposed now to the ad world will surely increase as newly found segment will be heavily dosed for surviving in this competitive market. So our report aims at taking precautionary steps in the government’s front, ethical front of the advertisers and of course on the parental & children’s front.

*Department of Management Sciences, University of Pune (Pumba) **Correspondence address: 8/27, Sharad Hsg Soc.,Opp Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, S.B.Road, Pune-16. E-mail: [email protected]

Part IV – Advertising & Society

History of Literature The term advertising is derived from the original Latin word ‘advertere’ which means ‘to turn’ the attention. Every piece of advertising turns the attention of the reader or the listeners or the viewers or the onlookers towards a product or a service or an idea. According to the New Encyclopaedia Britanica, “Advertising is a form of communication intended to promote the sale of a product or service to influence the public opinion to gain political support or to advance a particular cause”. Our research paper deals with children in the age group of 5-15 years which is now forming the new segment for the marketing companies. Advertisement is the major source of marketing the product. So Companies spend huge amount of money to promote their product in the competitive environment. Advertising in print media grew 14.7% in 2004 compared to TV ad growth of 13%. During January-December 2004, ad spend in press accounted for 46% of the total advertising pie of Rs 11,800 crore followed by TV at 41%, outdoor 7%, cinema 3%, radio 2% and internet 0.5%. According to the new "India Media Market 2007" report from Heernet Ventures, the Indian media market is expected to grow from revenues of $9.2 billion in 2007 to $17 billion by 2012. That converts to an estimated INR415.4 billion in 2007 rising to INR766 billion in 2012, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13%. Accounting for 43% of total ad spending, newspapers are the largest advertising channel in India, followed by television, at 35% of the total, with the other media channels far behind. Online advertising currently accounts for only 3% of total spending. Internet, another important source of enriching knowledge for children which also became a medium for marketing their product as this is the major time spent area after media. The concept of online marketing was introduced & products are sponsored on frequently visited sites & some odd ways like Pop Ups. This leads the buyer (children in this case) to a new world of market & sometimes ev...

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