Advertising and Your Kids

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In the wee hours of Saturday night, 10/11/75, a young medical student (that would be me) was watching the very first episode of Saturday Night Live on his 13 inch, rabbit-eared TV. Near the end of the show, the following commercial spoof aired (slightly edited):

Announcer:
"Since the caveman, man has ardently striven to design the perfect shaving instrument. From the straight razor, to the safety razor, to the injector system, and finally the highly acclaimed twinblade cartridge.

Introducing the Triple--Trac. Not just two blades in one system, but three stainless, platinum teflex-coated blades.

Here's how it works. The first blade grabs at the whisker, tugging it away from your face to protect it from the second blade. Blade number two catches and digs into the stubble before it has the chance to snap back and injure you, pulling it farther out so that it is now ready for shearing. Triple-Trac's third blade, a finely-honed bonded platinum instrument, cuts cleanly through the whisker at its base, leaving your face as smooth as a billiard ball.

The Triple-Trac. Because you'll believe anything."

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It was hilariously absurd. I knew that neither I nor anyone else would ever fall for such ridiculous hype, no matter how slickly pitched. Three blades! Ha ha ha! (Please have the human decency not to ask me how many blades are currently affixed to my razor.)

But even Saturday Night Live could not have envisioned a world in which we would pay $8/gallon for water, especially when perfectly tasty and healthy water comes out of our tap for less than a penny. (One of my adolescent patients, going off to college, asked me if she could use tap water to water her house plants or must she use "healthy" bottled water.)

My point is obvious: advertising is incredibly effective in creating new categories of previously unknown human needs. That's fair game. I'm certainly not averse to the constitutional right to advertise and its vital role - both positive and negative - in our capitalist system.

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But all that applies to influencing adults. The $2 billion of advertising directed at children each year is quite another matter. It's simply not a fair fight - the power differential is too unbalanced, inviting a kind of corporate child exploitation in the service of profits.

Do you disagree? Consider:

• Trusting little souls, young kids (certainly those less than 8 years) believe what they see on TV and magazines and billboards to be the gospel truth (of course, so do many of us adults) and they do not recognize the intent-to-sell motivation underlying commercials.


• The average American child may view up to 40,000 TV commercials per year (1 hour of children's TV contains about 50 ads).


• U.S. children, ages 4-12 years, influence the spending of an estimated $50 billion/year. Teens influence or spend about $150 billion/year. A billion here, a billion there, and soon you are talking real money and real economic clout.


• As early as 3 years, children recognize brand logos (that's why, in 1991, 5-year-olds could better identify Joe Camel than Mickey Mouse). A recent study (which inspired me to write this post) showed that kids described carrots in a logo marked plastic bag as tastier than the same carrots on a plate.
  

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What to do?
I'm not an anti-advertising zealot and, if you have read any of my other stuff, you know I don't think TV viewing is the root of all evil. But I do recognize it has a very powerful influence on kids (and all of us). We need to get smarter on how to advantage its positive attributes and how to minimize the bad stuff. It's not the medium, it's the message.

How, for example, can we offset the promotion of junk food and expensive brands and cigarettes and alcohol and all those things that we know are bad for kids? How can we harness that power to promote positive messages, such as what constitutes good nutrition, the importance of exercise, safety issues, healthy emotional development, etc? Am I naive to think the current advertisers, who bludgeon our kids on Saturday mornings with crap, could be convinced to do more "public service announcement" type posts?

I don't think so, if we can convince them that the good will it would engender would be in their economic self-interest. Look at how the fast food providers are falling over themselves to offer "healthy"" alternatives. Even Cookie Monster is eating his fruits and veggies these days.

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Teach your kids to become "media literate."
Closer to home, as much as you can (and still retain your sanity), watch TV with your kids to teach them "media literacy." Among other things that means helping them to understand the true intent-to-sell message of advertising. Check out PBS Kids GO: Don't Buy It!, a fun web site to explore these issues with your kids.

Here's an educational exercise for you. Sit down for an hour or two on Saturday morning and watch children's TV with your kids. (Of course the quality and messages of the programming are an issue, but I'm focusing on the advertising for now). How many commercials did you see in an hour? What were their messages? What did they teach your kids? I think you'll see why media literacy is a must. (For more great tips on teaching your kids media literacy, go to PBS Parents Guide to Children and the Media.)

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You wouldn't hire a babysitter without checking references and talking to her about how she will deal with your kids. Well, I've got news: your TV is that babysitter. Alas, she often has the attributes of a crazed salesman, spending much of her time showing your children violent images and then, as a break, beguiling your kids to buy the latest gooey confection or sparkly toy.

Do you really want this entity to care for your kids without your supervision? Don't you need to go out of your way to explain to your kids why and how the babysitter is out to lunch? Time for the empire (that would be you) to strike back and seize control. Make your kids media literate.

Original cartoon by Jack Maypole, MD

Related Topics:

• Study: Most Tots Watching TV
• Too Much TV May Hamper Kids' Attention

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