Is it Unethical to Market to Children?

Is it Unethical to Market to Children?

Introduction

Businesses today have adapted to the means of infiltrating our minds through advertisements. There are subliminal messages in the advertisements and adult consumers are immune to this way of marketing. Therefore, corporations today are moving their marketing strategies towards children. Thus, by manipulating the small minds, money is extracted from adults through them. The main reason marketing is more aimed at children is because they have the persuasive power on their parents and also, it's easier to play with their less developed minds. Hence, the question arise, is it Unethical to Market to Children?

There are two aspects to the ethics involved in marketing. Firstly, the attitude and moral behind marketing and secondly, the way marketers conduct advertisements (Austin, M., et al.1999). This determines whether the intention of the advertiser was to bring a positive or a negative value to the target market. To raise this ethical perspective more issues arise when dealing with them. The questions like whether the children understood the marketing concept behind the advertisement?, the regulatory controls that allow such marketing to take place and do marketers get parents consent before they market their products (Winston, 2004). The issue is that children market is so uneven that it is difficult to put a cap on the marketers and this is the reasons why they take immense advantage by continue to advertising and gaining profits (Faith, 2010).

Usually, the advertising is based to manipulate the mindset of their customers (Paul, 2005). It is generally clear that the true sense of advertising to convey information and generate acceptable limit of profits is lost on today's world, where the emphasis is only to gain profits and achieve high results. However, many authorities have taken a step to stop such unethical behavior in marketing their products and so today marketers are feeling the pressure to market the right way. In many instances, this has remained a failure (Henry & Frank, 2000) as to reach objectives at all costs Marketers have to use the unethical path to reach their consumers.

Discussion

The Influence by the Young Children

There is a huge budget set aside by the corporations for advertising and making the product known to people all around the geographic region it intends to market. The advertisements encourage, persuade and influence individuals to make the purchase of the product which may be entirely out of necessity and thus, exploits the nature of people (Sharon, B. 1998). Children are particularly sensitive to such sort of advertisements.

Before the marketing on children was only limited to toys and candies, however, today their influence has increased to 70% on clothes, shoes, junk food, games and computer equipments and many other things. There is a huge amount spend on specially targeting the young minds as advertisers have reaped great benefits out of them.

In a research conducted in U.S in 2001 showed that around sixty million school going children and teenagers spend $115 billion yearly, on sweets, drinks, ...