Toy advertising: Difference between revisions

The natural credulity of young children means that advertising to children is almost always a sensitive issue. The average child is exposed to approximately 40,000 commercials a year.<ref name="Donald L. Shifrin 2006">Donald L. Shifrin, M. C. (2006, Dec). Children, Adolescents, and Advertising. American Academy of Periatrics Pediatrics, 2563-2569.</ref> These messages are channeled through television, the internet, billboard campaigns, and print media. Toy marketers are also known for their more direct approaches, targeting schools.<ref name="Donald L. Shifrin 2006"/> Doing so by producing toys that are advertised with educational benefits throughout primary school catalogs and news letters. A study on child advertising conducted in December 2007 examined the relationship between television commercials and children's requests to Father Christmas. Throughout the findings, there was a significant correlation between the items requested and the commercials viewed. Proportionally, a greater number of brands were requested when associated with higher television viewing times.<ref>Pine, K. J., Wilson, P. B., & Nash, A. S. (2007, December ). The Relationship Between Television Advertising, Children's Viewing and Their Requests to Father Christmas. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 28, 456.</ref> These findings reflect the impact marketers have on children. Through the use of advertising, brands are shaping the opinions and beliefs of young children every day, thus generating an unrelenting appetite for branded merchandise. The intentions of toy manufacturers are to influence children while they are young to gain brand loyalty, generating consumers for the future. Marketing strategies for advertising to children are paid high attention to as the market adds approximately 21 billion dollars to the United States economy each year.<ref>Statista. (2015). Statistics and Facts on the Toy Industry. Retrieved from Statista: http://www.statista.com/topics/1108/toy-industry/</ref> This is possible due to the influential amount of purchasing power children have when pressuring their parents, through what marketers refer to as "pester power".<ref>McDermott, L., O'Sullivan, T., Stead, M., & Hastings, G. (2006). International food advertising, pester power and its effects. International Journal of Advertising, 513-539.</ref>

Effective advertising strategies also heavily involve product placement;,<ref name="Donald L. Shifrin 2006"/> in which a business pays for its products to be included in a film or television program.<ref>Russell, C. A., & Stern, B. B. (2006 ). CONSUMERS, CHARACTERS, AND PRODUCTS: A Balance Model of Sitcom Product Placement Effects. Journal of Advertising , 7-21.</ref> Theory{{Clarify|date=NovemberA 2022}}theory suggests that the limited cognitive process whichthat occurs when a child engages in television inflicts a feeling of familiarity to stimulate preference.<ref>Auty, S., & Lewis, C. (2004). Exploring Children's Choice: The Reminder Effect of Product Placement. Psychology and Marketing , 697-713.</ref> ''[[Toy Story]]'', a famous all -time Disney movie, was produced in association with toy makers. Characters in the movie were based on real -life toys ([[Mr. Potato Head]], [[Slinky Dog (toy)|Slinky Dog]], and [[Etch A Sketch]]) whose original sales needingneeded refreshing. After the release of the film in 1995, the sales of the toys that featured in the ''Toy Story'' movie skyrocketed. In correlation, the Disney movie ''Frozen'' is a franchise within itself, generating a net worth of $2.25 billion.<ref>QUARTZ. (2014, August 05). Disney will keep milking "Frozen" for all it is worth. Retrieved from QUARTZ: http://qz.com/245225/disney-will-keep-milking-frozen-for-all-its-worth/</ref> Disney has capitalisedcapitalized on the filmsfilm's wide audience by constructing a profitable franchise supplying ''Frozen'' character dolls, teddies, lunch boxes, clothing, duvet covers, and more. According to Dave Hollis, executive vice president for distribution at Walt Disney Studios, Disney had troubling marketing to males. To overcome this, Disney found that boys respond more to humor; therefore, Olaf, the comedic Snowman, was advertised as much as the two female lead characters were.<ref name="fool.com">Kline, D. B. (2014, May 14). How Disney Will Make 'Frozen' a Billion-Dollar Franchise. Retrieved from The Motely Fool : http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/05/14/how-disney-will-make-frozen-a-billion-dollar-franc.aspx</ref> The success of this strategic marketing was reflected in the exit polls, which readshowed that 43% of the audience during the opening weekend were in fact male.<ref name="fool.com"/> Using this particular advertising strategy, Disney, in theory, doubled their targeted audience.

The influence of famous characters in commercials blurs the lines between programmesprograms and advertisements. An example from the journal ''Children as Consumers'' explains how celebrity endorsements in commercials have positive effects on a child's response throughout the sales of toy cars.<ref>Adrian, F., & Barrie, G. (2008, January ). A Psychological Analysis of the Young People's Market. Children as Consumers, 224.</ref> Cross-promotions of businesses heavily involve celebrity and character endorsements. For ten years, Disney worked in collaboratingcollaboration with McDonald's, promoting the latest Disney films throughout the McDonald's Happy Meals. The connection between toys and fast food for young children creates a fun experience. EvidentAs evident in the ''American Academy of PaediatricsPediatrics'' journal, 20% of fast food restaurantsrestaurant advertisements now mention a complementary toy in their ads.<ref name="Donald L. Shifrin 2006"/> The consequence of this illusion, that fast food is fun, holds businesses accountable for exploiting children and contributing to the global epidemic of child obesity. Where oneOne in three children are classed as obese throughout New Zealand alone.<ref>Ministry of Health. (2015, December 10). Annual Update of Key Results 2014/15: New Zealand Health Survey. Wellington , New Zealand.</ref>

Ryan Kaji, the main visual representation of Ryan's World on YouTube, is said to be the highest-paid creator of videos in the year 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Noor|first=Poppy|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/dec/20/youtube-highest-earner-eight-year-old-guan-ryans-world|title=The highest YouTube earner this year? An eight-year-old|date=2019-12-20|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-02-20|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He uses his big following of 23 million subscribers <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2019/12/18/the-highest-paid-youtube-stars-of-2019-the-kids-are-killing-it/|title=The Highest-Paid YouTube Stars of 2019: The Kids Are Killing It|last=Berg|first=Madeline|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-03-02}}</ref> to advertise and endorse specific toys that appeal to children and parents everywhere. Nearly 90 percent <ref>{{Cite news|last=Hsu|first=Tiffany|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/business/media/ryan-toysreview-youtube-ad-income.html|title=Popular YouTube Toy Review Channel Accused of Blurring Lines for Ads|date=2019-09-04|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-02-20|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> of his videos include at least one paid recommendation of a toy. His method of advertising is byto givinggive these toys a good review so people will feel the need to buy them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/youtube-highest-earning-creators-ryans-world-pewdiepie-1203447625/|title=YouTube Kid Channel Ryan's World Pulled in Estimated $26 Million in 2019, Double PewDiePie's Haul|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=2019-12-18|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref>

Contest and giveaway prizes are effective practices marketers use to entice children and increase sales. Cereal companies are renowned for contest and giveaway prizes, directly targeted at children. Similar to fast food, cereal companies generate excitement around their brand through the use of toys and games. Competition-based advertisementadvertising can increase sales traffic as consumers believe the more they buy, the higher their chances of winning are. This is also effective when the prized toy is a mystery and children have to buy the product to find out what it is. An example of this is the Weetbix All Black campaign, where Weetbix released All Black collector cards. Weetbix was able to engage their targeted audience, young boys, to want to purchase Weetbix so they cancould get the nationally loved rugby team's trading cards. By collectingCollecting and trading the cards also enhances social benefits for young children. By using rewardsreward schemes, Weetbix has encouraged children to choose a healthier cereal for breakfast. This is counteractive towardsto competitive sugar-based cereal brands, thus benefiting both Weetbix and children.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

Marketers have been known to entice children through the use of exclusion. By directly advertising products as ‘kids'kids only’only', it buildsmakes the experience feel special. This type of advertising is common throughout food companies, promoting that this drink or snack is just for kids, making it immediately more engaging. The company Trix, an all-time favouritefavorite American cereal, has a slogan that reads, "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids." Promoting the impression of exclusion and importance.