So, I am currently in a journalism course that is focused on ethics in media and over the last couple of weeks we have been discussing the media-ethics issues in marketing and advertising.
We discussed product placement, ethnic stereotyping, gender-specific stereotyping as well as advertising and marketing to children. Marketing and advertising to children was our main focus as there are many ethical issues in place when dealing with it.
In the class we watched a very well done documentary about marketing and advertising to children called, Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood. The film discusses, in great detail, the different channels that marketing and advertising companies use to target children. One of the marketing and advertising channels the film focuses on is the Internet.
Companies use a plethora of different online marketing strategies targeted at children, such as:
- Links and apps sent to their mobile phones (this way parents aren’t even aware of it or they find out when they get the phone bill and at that point it is too late to do anything about it).
- Other downloadable content to cell phones.
- Online “games.” Company websites have interactive games targeted at kids – again kids and their parents are not even aware of the fact that they being advertised to.
- Chat rooms, such as Webkinz (a website that allows kids to join only after buying a product and then entering a code – the website then allows kids to chat, play games and shop some more).
In the film, all these different marketing strategies are looked at in order to add to the debate of whether or not, marketing and advertising, when it is directed toward children, should be regulated by the government or strictly the parent’s responsibility. It is an American made film, where currently there are no government regulations on advertising to children.
However, here in Canada, where there are government imposed restrictions on marketing to children, we still face the same issues when it comes to online marketing directed towards children because of the lack of regulations placed on the Internet. Which leads me to my question for you, what can be done (if you think anything should be done) to regulate online marketing and advertising directed towards children? Also, do you think online marketing to children is ethical? Why, or why not?
***Side note: The documentary about advertising and marketing to children (linked above) is actually really interesting and worth the watch if you have an hour to spare (and the whole think is on YouTube, so it’s free!).
