English101
Professor Jason Smith
1 October 2013 The Hypnotizing of Children
"Nostalgic childhood memories of a brand will lead to a life time of purchase." . Is this kind of strategy a fair way to go?.How does it affect the minds of our young children.
Now a days, working parents find themselves not having the time to give their children all of the attention. This absence of attention from parents lead to a time known as "The Decade of the Child Consumer." Children began nagging their parents into buying them things. In the book " Kids as Costumers", McNeal mentions the different ways children nagged their parents. There was pleading , persistent, forceful, demonstrative, sugar coated, threatening, and pitiful nagging that demonstrated different actions. To me that sounds pretty creative. Different ways of asking until you finally get what you want.
When Ray Kroc and Walt Disney began working together, they both believed that " brand loyalty" starts as early as the age of two. Young children who are drawn to fun, exciting looking things loved what Disney and McDonald's had to offer. Toys, attraction in play lands was all a child looked for. When toys were included in meals and new attractions in Disney Land were built, the child interest increased. Meals came with Pokémon cards, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Tamogetchis , " ( Your Trusted Friend 47) . McDonald's built "play lands who brought in kids, kids who brought in parents, and parents who brought in money." Of course, having play lands or toys in meals didn't have much harm to the child's mind. It all meant fun. But what about all the other things around, such as TV and advertisements.
It's believed that every American child spends twenty- one hours a week watching TV. About thirty thousand TV commercials(Your Trusted Friend 47.) Due to ads for children, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tried to ban television ads aimed at children saying that " they cannot protect themselves, against adults who exploit their present-mindedness"( The American Way 46.) Supporters such as American Academy of Pediatrics, National Congress of Parents and Teachers and Consumer Union tried to prevent the occurrence of TV ads to be less often showed. Unfortunately, the National Association of Broadcasters attacked to prevent any restrictions on ads.
Nostalgic childhood memories do follow children into their adult hood. Inventions of newer more exciting toys in McDonalds, and attractions in Disney Lands do bring a lot of profit. Constant advertisements on television are for sure a negative effect on a child's mind. There is only so much a parent can do, such as restrict television time. Once a child sees something they like, it will be hard to forget.
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