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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
VII. Special Topics and
Perspectives
22. Evaluating the Social,
Ethical, & Economic
Aspects of Advtising &
Promotion
helping children interpret advertising and can refuse to purchase products they believe
are undesirable for their children.
The FTC proposal was defeated, and changes in the political environment resulted
in less emphasis on government regulation of advertising. But parent and consumer
groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest are still putting pressure on
advertisers regarding what they see as inappropriate or misleading ads for children.
One activist group, Action for Children’s Television (ACT), was disbanded in 1992,
but first it was instrumental in getting Congress to approve the Children’s Television
Act in October 1990. The act limits the amount of commercial time in children’s programming
to 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes on weekdays. 40
In 1996 broadcasters, children’s advocates, and the federal government reached an
agreement requiring TV stations to air three hours of children’s educational shows a
week. 41 Many believe advertisers will play a major role in implementing the new initiative
by providing financial backing for the educational shows—which have long
had trouble luring sponsors. 42
Children are also protected from the potential influences of commercials by
network censors and industry self-regulatory groups such as the Council of Better
Business Bureaus’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU). CARU has strict
self-regulatory guidelines regarding the type of appeals, product presentation and
claims, disclosures and disclaimers, the use of premiums, safety, and techniques such
as special effects and animation. The CARU guidelines for advertising addressed to
children under 12 are presented in Figure 22-2.
As we saw in Chapter 21, the major networks also have strict guidelines for ads targeted
to children. For example, in network TV ads, only 10 seconds can be devoted to
animation and special effects; the final 5 seconds are reserved for displaying all the
toys shown in the ad and disclosing whether they are sold separately and whether
accessories such as batteries are included. Networks also require 3 seconds of every
30-second cereal ad to portray a balanced breakfast, usually by showing a picture of
toast, orange juice, and milk. 43
While concerns over advertising and other forms of promotion directed at children
diminished somewhat over the past decade, the issue has been receiving greater attention
recently. Reasons for this growing concern include the increasing viewing options
children have as a result of the growth of cable television, an increase in the number of
ads encouraging children to call 900 numbers, the increase in the number of toy-based
Five basic principles underlie these guidelines for advertising directed to children:
1. Advertisers should always take into account the level of knowledge, sophistication,
and maturity of the audience to which their message is primarily directed. Younger
children have a limited capability for evaluating the credibility of what they watch.
Advertisers, therefore, have a special responsibility to protect children from their own
susceptibilities.
2. Realizing that children are imaginative and that make-believe play constitutes an
important part of the growing-up process, advertisers should exercise care not to
exploit that imaginative quality of children. Unreasonable expectations of product
quality or performance should not be stimulated either directly or indirectly by
advertising.
3. Recognizing that advertising may play an important part in educating the child, information
should be communicated in a truthful and accurate manner with full recognition
by the advertiser that the child may learn practices from advertising that can
affect his or her health and well-being.
4. Advertisers are urged to capitalize on the potential of advertising to influence social
behavior by developing advertising that, wherever possible, addresses itself to social
standards generally regarded as positive and beneficial, such as friendship, kindness,
honesty, justice, generosity, and respect for others.
5. Although many influences affect a child’s personal and social development, it remains
the prime responsibility of the parents to provide guidance for children. Advertisers
should contribute to this parent-child relationship in a constructive manner.
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
Figure 22-2 Children’s
Advertising Review Unit
principles
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Chapter Twenty-two Evaluating the Social, Ethical, and Economic Aspects
of Advertising and Promotion