Marketing to children is a major concern to regulators
and consumer groups. A major reason for this concern is
evidence based on Piaget's theory of cognitive development
that children are not able to fully comprehend
commercial messages. This has led to rules issued by
both the Federal Trade Commission and the Children's
Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the National
Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business
Bureaus. These rules focus mainly on being sure that
commercials are clearly separated from the program
content and that the words and pictures in the commercials
do not mislead children having limited cognitive
skills.
In addition to concerns about children's comprehension
of advertisements, there is concern about the effect
of the content of commercials on children. The extensive
advertising of high-fat and high-sugar products
raises a concern about its effect on the health of children.
Since children watch a substantial amount of
prime-time television, there is also a danger that ads
aimed at adults will inspire children to take inappropriate
actions. In addition, there is concern that the enormous
amount of advertising that children view will lead
to values that are overly materialistic.
There are a number of marketing activities aimed at
children other than television advertising that cause
concerns. Marketing to children through mobile devices
is an emerging concern. Corporate programs that place
strong sales messages in "educational" materials supplied
to schools have also come under attack. Children's
advocates are now particularly concerned about marketing
to children on the Internet. The federal government
has passed legislation to protect children's online privacy
(Children's Online Privacy Protection Act).
CARU also has guidelines on this topic.
Regulators and business alike are also concerned that
adults receive accurate and adequate information about
products. The cumulative impact of numerous ads focusing
on narcissistic values and product ownership on
society's values is a controversial issue.
The regulators and responsible marketers want consumers
to have sufficient, adequate information to make
sound purchase decisions. Attempts to regulate the
amount of information provided sometimes overlook
information overload and are not effective.
The focus of consumer concern and regulation of
products is twofold: Are they safe? and Are they environmentally
sound?
Concern with pricing is that prices be fair and accurately
presented in a manner that allows comparison
across brands.
