Advertising to Children: New Directions, New Media

264 Pages·2014·3.963 MB·English

by  Mark Blades, Caroline Oates, Fran Blumberg, Barrie Gunter (eds.)

This important source for students, researchers, advertisers and parents reviews the
debates about advertising to children, and presents new information about chil-
dren’s understanding of advertising. Contributing authors analyse food and alcohol
advertising and their effect on children and young people, and explore the point at
which children can fi rst identify advertisements and when they can understand that ADVERTISING
advertisements are persuasive messages. In addition to reporting research about tele-
vision advertising, this volume includes studies about advertising to children in new
media, including web pages, search engines and advergames. There is a discussion of E
d
the new ways that marketers reach children, for instance through the internet or with it TO CHILDREN
e
product placement, as well as practical explanations of how parents and educators can d

help children become more critical of advertisements. b
y
M
A
RA
Mark Blades is Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at the University of K New Directions, New Media

Sheffi eld, UK. He is co-author of the textbook Understanding Children’s Develop- BD
L
ment, now in its fi fth edition. AV
D
EE
Caroline Oates is Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Sheffi eld Man- S
, CR
agement School, UK. She has co-authored Advertising to Children on TV: Content,
A
T
Impact and Regulation with M. Blades and B. Gunter. R
OI
LS
I
Fran Blumberg is an Associate Professor in Fordham University’s Division of Psycho- NI
EN
logical & Educational Services, USA. She edited Learning by Playing: Video Gaming in
O
Education. AG
T
E
Barrie Gunter is Professor of Mass Communication at the University of Leicester, UK. S, FTO
He is a psychologist by training and worked in the broadcasting sector for 15 years R
A
before moving into the academic world. N
C

B
LH
U
MI
BL
E
RD
G
R
a
n
dE
BN
A
R
R
I
E

G Edited by MARK BLADES, CAROLINE OATES,
ISBN 978-0-230-25202-8 U
N
90101
T FRAN BLUMBERG and BARRIE GUNTER
E
R
9 780230 252028
Cover image © Blend Images / Alamy
Content Type: Black & White
Paper Type: White
Page Count: 268
File type: Internal
Advertising to Children
Advertising to Children
New Directions, New Media
Edited by
Mark Blades
University of Sheffield, UK
Caroline Oates
University of Sheffield, UK
Fran Blumberg
Fordham University, USA
Barrie Gunter
University of Leicester, UK
Selection, introduction, conclusion and editorial matter © Mark Blades,
Caroline Oates, Fran Blumberg and Barrie Gunter 2014
Individual chapters © respective authors 2014
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author(s) has/have asserted his/her/their right(s) to be identified as the
author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
First published 2014 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-32170-4 ISBN 978-1-137-31325-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137313256
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Transferred to Digital Printing in 2014
Contents
List of Tables and Figures vii
Notes on Contributors ix
1 Introduction 1
Barrie Gunter, Caroline Oates, Fran Blumberg &
Mark Blades
2 Do Very Young Children Understand Persuasive
Intent in Advertisements? 17
Moondore Ali & Mark Blades
3 The Development of Children’s Scepticism
About Advertising 38
Maria T. Chu, Mark Blades & Jane Herbert
4 Commercial Food Promotion to Children 50
Emma J. Boyland, Joanne A. Harrold,
Tim C. Kirkham & Jason C. G. Halford
5 Alcohol Advertising and Young People 70
Barrie Gunter
6 Advertising to Children in China 93
Kara Chan
7 Parents’ Beliefs About, and Attitudes Towards,
Marketing to Children 115
Caroline Oates, Nicki Newman & Athanasia Tziortzi
8 The Family’s Role in Children’s Interpretation
of Advertising 137
Moniek Buijzen
9 Linkages Between Media Literacy and Children’s
and Adolescents’ Susceptibility to Advertising 158
Fran C. Blumberg, Jessica M. Williams & Brian Kelley
v
vi Contents
10 Under the Radar: How Embedded Commercial
Messages in TV and the New Media Influence
Children Without their Conscious Awareness 178
Laura Owen, Charlie Lewis & Susan Auty
11 Young Children’s Ability to Identify Advertisements on
Television, Web Pages and Search Engine Web Pages 199
Shiying Li, Megan Pickering, Moondore Ali, Mark Blades &
Caroline Oates
12 The Influence of Advergames on Children’s Consumer
Choices and Behavior 218
Amanda E. Staiano & Sandra L. Calvert
13 Conclusions 239
Caroline Oates, Fran Blumberg, Barrie Gunter &
Mark Blades
Index 245
List of Tables and Figures
Tables
2.1 Categorisation of children’s responses to the
questions about advertisements 31
6.1 Percentage of children giving appropriate
responses to questions about television
advertising, by age group among urban
and rural respondents 99
6.2 Children’s perception of the truthfulness
of television advertising, by age group among
urban and rural respondents 101
6.3 Children’s liking of television advertising,
by age group among urban and rural respondents 102
6.4 Children’s perceptions of brands 103
6.5 Children’s responses to different advertising
approaches by age group among urban
and rural respondents 105
6.6 Children’s responses to their favourite
commercials by age group among urban
and rural respondents 106
7.1 Statements related to parents’ advertising
regulation preferences 124
7.2 Recent UK regulations for the marketing
of food and drink to children 126
8.1 A typology of parental communication strategies 144
Figures
2.1 Model of shop 26
2.2 Model of kitchen 27
2.3 Model of dining room 27
2.4 Model of sitting room 28
2.5 Model of garden 28
6.1 Percentage of urban and rural children reporting
household ownership of broadcast and print media
in 2004 (urban) and in 2003 (rural) 95
vii
viii List of Tables and Figures
6.2 Percentage of urban and rural Chinese
children exposed to various media in one
month in 2004 (urban) and in 2003 (rural) 96
11.1 Example of an invented search results page 213
Notes on Contributors
Moondore Ali is a Lecturer in Psychology at Bina Nusantara University
in Indonesia. She has conducted research into children and advertising
in both the UK and Indonesia.
Susan Auty is a retired Lecturer in Marketing at Lancaster University.
Her research has focused on how people make choices, and her most
recent projects have looked specifically at how children might be influ-
enced by the effect of product placement.
Mark Blades is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of
Sheffield. He has published on many aspects of children’s cognitive
development, including children’s understanding of advertising.
Fran Blumberg is an Associate Professor in the Division of Psychological
and Educational Services at Fordham University, New York. She has
researched many aspects of children’s media experience, including chil-
dren’s use of computer games.
Emma Boyland is a Lecturer in Psychological Sciences at the Univer-
sity of Liverpool, where she specialises in research related to children’s
diet and healthy eating, and the effects of food advertising on children.
Moniek Buijzen is a Professor at Radboud University Nijmegen, where
she carries out studies into health promotion for young people and
research into how the commercialization of the media environment
affects children and families.
Sandra Calvert is a Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University
and Director of the Children’s Digital Media Centre. She has carried out
extensive research into the influences of digital media on children’s lives.
Kara Chan is a Professor in the Department of Communication Stud-
ies at Hong Kong Baptist University. Her interests include cross-cultural
consumer studies, young people’s understanding of advertising and the
promotion of healthy eating.
ix
x Notes on Contributors
Maria Chu is a Research Fellow at City University London. She previ-
ously held postdoctoral positions at four other universities. Her research
includes studies of children’s and adults’ healthy and unhealthy eating
and weight management.
Barrie Gunter is a Professor in the Department of Media and Commu-
nication, University of Leicester. He has conducted extensive research
on media and related topics, including publications on children and
advertising.
Jason Halford is a Professor in Psychological Sciences at the University
of Liverpool. His work includes research into the causes of obesity in
adults and the effects of food advertising on children.
Joanne Harrold is a Senior Lecturer in Psychological Sciences at
the University of Liverpool researching the factors underlying feeding
behaviour, including food marketing and the development of healthy
eating preferences in childhood.
Jane Herbert is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield who
specialises in children’s learning and development, including how
young children can be influenced by television and media.
Brian Kelley is a doctoral student at Fordham University, New York. His
research interests focus on affect, literary understanding, and the reading
of comics-based materials such as graphic novels and comic books.
Tim Kirkham is a Professor in Psychological Sciences at the University
of Liverpool where he has carried out research into the neurochemistry
of appetite and the role of neurotransmitters in the control of eating
desires.
Charlie Lewis is a Professor of Family and Developmental Psychol-
ogy at Lancaster University. His research has focused on how family
members, particularly fathers, influence children’s development. His
work includes studies investigating the implicit effects of marketing on
children.
Shiying Li is a postgraduate student at the University of Sheffield,
where she is carrying out research into Chinese children’s recognition of
Internet advertising.