Children's responses to TV advertising: Product versus premium orientation

Attention has focused on a call for a ban on premium offers in children's television ads. Key considerations for proposing a ban was reflected in the FTC's statements regarding the confusion and difficulties of choice when the injection of a premium becomes the selling point rather than product merit. The sparsity of previous research in this area led to this exploration of television advertising viewing of different commercial content as it affects the “consumer learning process” of a child. This basically involves a continuum of learning, from the simplest recall of specific marketing-oriented elements such as identification of product or sponsor to the more complex level of understanding the use or value of a particular product or service. Trends noted in this study give additional insight to the marketing practitioner concerning the types of elements a child can assimilate and to the child's understanding of the message.