Toy advertising

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Toy advertising is the promotion of toys through a variety of media. Advertising campaigns for toys have been criticised for turning children into consumerists and are regulated to ensure they meet defined standards. These rules vary from country to country, with all advertisements directed to children banned in some countries.

Contents

[edit] Campaign intentions

As with all advertising campaigns the intention is to sell a company's product. Adverts for toys frequently promote the sale not just of one individual item but an entire range.

[edit] Target audience

[Y]oung children have difficulty distinguishing between advertising and reality in ads, and ads can distort their view of the world

Consumer Reports, [1]

Toy advertising campaigns may be targeted to children and their parents, with different methods for each. Marketing towards adults is intended to make them believe that the product would be beneficial for the child, often stressing the educational gains that they will make.

Children up to the age of five can find it difficult to distinguish between the main programmes and commercial breaks and can easily be led to "need" something they see on television.[1] This is particularly difficult for them when a toy range is linked to a television series they are watching.[2] Many children do not understand the intentions of marketing and commercials until the age of eight, often believing a toy to be more functional than it really is.[1]

Many toys are directed towards one specific sex and tailor their advertising to meet the needs of that particular sex.[3]

[edit] Methods of advertising

Common methods of advertising include:

The first televised toy commercial to be shown in the United States was for Hasbro's Mr. Potato Head in 1955.[4] Since then television has been one of the most important mediums for marketing toys.

Many toy lines are developed to tie in to films and television series. Bernard Loomis is credited with masterminding the first children's television series created to sell a range of toys.[5] 1969s Hot Wheels would later be classified by the Federal Communications Commission as "advertising time", but the idea help to change the way in which toys were marketed and children's series were developed. Loomis went on to implement the toy merchandising for the Star Wars films.[6] In 1984 the United States Federal Trade Commission deregulated children's television. As part of this they removed a prohibition against cartoon series linked to toys, with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe being one of the first to have an associated toy line.[2] That same year Hasbro developed Transformers, which would be released as an animated television series, comic book, and toy line.[4]

The linking of toys to fast food advertising campaigns has been widely condemned for increasing childhood obesity.[1] However the practice is still a very popular marketing technique. Starting in the late 1980s fast food chains began to realise that the over 30s market was dropping due to an increased awareness of health and thus the avoidance of junk food. They looked to children as a potential growth market because of their ability to influence their parents in deciding where to eat. The introduction of toys given away with meals has boosted sales dramatically, and the further tie-in to films and television series has further increased the marketing opportunities.[7]

The term "pester power" refers to children nagging their parents to buy a product. Children will repeatedly ask them to buy a toy they want, and such insistence often leads to a purchase.[8]

The Internet has created a whole new environment for advertisers and new strategies have developed to take advantage of the lack of a regulatory body. Now a significant part of youth culture, marketing campaigns can target children without any parental supervision.[8] Interactive games are a new medium which can be used to advertise toys to children without them realising that it is part of a gimmick.

[edit] Regulation

In response to the perceived dangers of advertising to children some countries and districts have highly regulated or even banned these marketing avenues. In Sweden all advertisements aimed at children under the age of 12 have been banned and they are lobbying the European Union to do the same. Similarly Québec introduced the Consumer Protection Act to ban advertising aimed at children under the age of 13.[1]

[edit] See also

  • List of Happy Meal toys

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Media Awareness Network. "Special Issues for Young Children". Accessed 21 August 2007.
  2. ^ a b Young Media Australia. 7 June 2007. "Toy advertising". Accessed 21 August 2007.
  3. ^ International Council of Toy Industries. 15 November 2004. "History". Accessed 22 August 2007.
  4. ^ a b BusinessWeek. 29 January 2007. "Hardly Babes In Toyland". Accessed 22 August 2007.
  5. ^ Sullivan, Patricia. Washington Post. 4 June 2006. "Bernard Loomis; Merged Toy Marketing, Saturday Cartoons" (part one). Accessed 21 August 2007.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Patricia. Washington Post. 4 June 2006. "Bernard Loomis; Merged Toy Marketing, Saturday Cartoons" (part two). Accessed 21 August 2007.
  7. ^ Stay Free magazine. 14 February 1994. "Great Moments in Kiddie Marketing: Fast-Food Toys". Accessed 21 August 2007.
  8. ^ a b Media Awareness Network. "How Marketers Target Kids". Accessed 21 August 2007.