WHY MOTHERS and FATHERS NEED HELP to PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN FROM PREDATORY MARKETING

Enola G. Aird

Director, The Motherhood Project

Institute for American Values

New York City 

There is an uneven playing field between marketers and parents in the United States today.   

The term "predatory" refers to behavior that takes unfair advantage and is exploitative. There is no question that many of the current practices in advertising and marketing to children today take unfair advantage--and are exploitative--of children's vulnerabilities and unequal bargaining power.  

Children--especially those under the age of 8--are particularly vulnerable to commercial appeals. They are not developmentally capable of defending themselves against the immense persuasive power of advertising.  Instead of taking pains to protect children, too many in the advertising and marketing industry today are working to take advantage of their vulnerabilities. 

The advertising and marketing industry has a real problem and industry leaders need to take steps to address it.  As the summary sheet for this briefing shows, eighty percent of American voters believe that marketing exploits children by convincing them to buy products that are bad for them. Fifty-six percent of parents with children ages 2-18 think that advertising has a negative effect on their children.   

Public concerns about the effects of advertising and marketing on children are routinely met with the following industry responses: 1) children are not being inundated with advertising; 2) there is insufficient evidence of harm to children; 3) it is up to parents to protect their own children; and 4) the industry can regulate itself. 

Here is why industry leaders are wrong. 

Children Are Being Inundated by Advertising and Marketing Today 

A typical child in the United States is exposed to about 40,000 commercials a year on television alone.  This does not include radio, the Internet, videos, video games, advertising in schools, billboards, other public places. It does not include immersive advertising, stealth marketing, viral marketing--and other new strategies designed to market to children in ways that escape their notice. 

A recent survey by Yankelovich Partners found that 65 % of consumers polled feel "constantly bombarded with too much marketing and advertising."    

Even industry leaders believe that young people are being overwhelmed by advertising and marketing.  In a recent Harris Interactive survey, 58% of the youth marketing professionals responding agreed that "there is too much marketing and advertising directed toward children."   Sixty-one percent agreed that "advertising to children begins at too young an age."  And 91% agreed that "young people are being marketed to in ways they don't even notice." 

There is Evidence of Harm to Children 

As my colleagues on this panel have demonstrated, marketing to children is associated with a wide range of public health problems. Yet, many industry leaders continue to insist that there is insufficient evidence of harm. 

I , as a mother, believe that, when it comes to protecting the health and well-being of children, we should err on the side of caution. As far as I am concerned, there is ample evidence to warrant corrective action on the part of advertisers and marketers.  

My questions to industry leaders are these: what evidence do you have that negates the evidence being amassed by a growing number of  health professionals and scholars?  What evidence can you share with us that would allay the fears and address the concerns that so many Americans have about the effects of advertising and marketing on children.  Would you be willing to join us in appealing to Congress to direct the Centers for Disease Control or some other appropriate entity to conduct an independent study of the effects of current practices in advertising and marketing on the health, well-being, and values of children?  If not, why not? 

Parents Alone Cannot Protect Their Children from Excesses of Advertising  and Marketing Today  

In the Harris Interactive survey, 73% of youth marketers responding agreed that "most companies put pressure on children to pester their parents to buy things."  If  most marketers regularly try to undermine parents and undercut parental authority, then how can industry leaders in good conscience maintain that it is up to parents to protect their children?   

To be sure, parents are primarily responsible for safeguarding their children. But parents alone cannot possibly shield their children from the overwhelming influence of a multi-billion dollar industry bent on training children to be lifelong consumers and actively deploying strategies to undermine parental authority. 

How can it be the case that an industry that spends billions of dollars to market to children, that uses nearly every available media technology, that employs the services of behavioral scientists to reach children at younger and younger ages, and that puts pressure on children to pester their parents-- has no responsibility at all to try to watch out for children's well-being?   Industry leaders must concede that they bear some measure of responsibility and they must take corrective action. 

Current Efforts at Industry Self-Regulation Are Woefully Inadequate 

Leaders of the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), a cornerstone of  industry self-regulation efforts, in response to a report of the Mothers' Council, acknowledged that CARU has no mandate to address most of the new cutting-edge marketing strategies directed at children.  

The Mothers' Council found a "glaring gap" between what the industry says about self-regulation and what it actually does, and called on the industry to take "immediate steps to strengthen its self-regulatory capabilities."  It also urged Congress to conduct hearings to "help the industry identify paths to enhanced self-regulation." 

We recognize that advertisers and marketers are not solely responsible for the challenges facing children.  But we cannot allow them to avoid their share of responsibility.  

Mothers and fathers need help to level the playing field.