One of the hottest topics in advertising is whether it is ethical to advertise t
ID: 372032 • Letter: O
Question
One of the hottest topics in advertising is whether it is ethical to advertise to children. On one side of the debate are the moralists who claim that children up to the age of 10 cannot distinguish advertising from programming. By this logic, the state should intervene and protect children from advertising. Some researchers disagree, however. One British study showed that the idea that children under the age of 12 fail to understand the purpose of advertising is just plain wrong. Lego, the Danish toy group, favors industry self-regulation. The company claims that Lego’s toys are designed to educate and entertain. Advertising allows the firm to explain the virtues of its toys. Some people also argue that advertising bans and regulations are often matters of vested interests dressed up as moral causes. Sweden’s restrictions on toy advertising may explain why Swedish toys are at least 30 percent more expensive than elsewhere in Europe. Likewise, some claim that the real purpose of Greece’s ban on TV toy advertising was to protect the local toy industry from cheap Asian imports that have to advertise their way into the marketplace. What is your viewpoint in this debate? Is self-regulation the ultimate solution here as Lego claims?
Explanation / Answer
The advertising is always subjected to geopolitical factors, economic factors and consumer behaviour factors. The real power always vested in the hands of the final consumer whether to consider the product or not. But in this scenario, the target audience is children, where the subject of understanding differs from age to age, region to region. For example age for the right to vote changes from country to country. So similarly the advertising conditions also change from country to country keeping in mind the economic factors and past consumer behavioural norms countries keep their own guidelines.
As a country, it will always encourage the in-house companies to benefit better.
As per the lego claims, we should not jump to the conclusion of having self-regulation in advertising because always set up a governing body to take care of what is good for the people by balancing both economic and socio factors. If the government feels about supporting the local industry or safeguarding the interests of children it can take any measures. Although it makes the market tough for foreign players to enter. They can always find a means of advertising in other ways like targeting parents, where they are the key final decision makers.
By bringing the self-regulation here, it will disrupt the advertising guidelines like banning the alcohol & drug advertisements.
I precisely answered the question, kindly comment, if you wanted me to explain in detail.
Regards
satish
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.