What’s wrong with marketing to kids, you may ask? The choices that children make about what products they spend their money on, and the influence they have on their parents’ spending, can be detrimental to their health. You may be surprised by how much money that represents. According to a 1998 article in American

Children who are enticed through advertising to believe that Pokemon Cereal is something they must have, will work hard to persuade their parents to buy it. The advertisers’ claim that this sugar-laden, almost non-nutrient product is “part of a nutritious breakfast” is misleading. Children who are allowed to consume sugary foods usually do so at the expense of eating other, more nutritious foods (Zoll, 2001). As such, their health suffers. This applies to advertising for chips, soda pop, and numerous other “junk foods”. Children simply can’t differentiate between healthy foods and those that have little nutritional value, but they are pushed by the media to see those foods as “the best choice”. This is truly unethical.

Similarly, the alcoholic beverage industry has used attractive characters to attract young adults. A good example of this is the “Spuds McKenzie” dog that was popular in the early 1990’s, which promoted the Bud Light beer product. At the same time that Joe Camel was being attacked as unethical, Budweiser Brewing Company

Some topics in this essay:
JR Reynolds’, Pokemon Cereal, Consumers International, Allen Kanner, Spuds McKenzie, Psychological Association, Children Ethical, American Demographics, Business Bureau, American Service, advertising children, unethical advertising, children unethical, affect physical, mental health, advertising geared, unethical practice,