With the end of audience in marketing advertising for children and young people on television, several brands had to review the way they their products, changing the target audience they were targeting in order to make equally effective sales and, in addition, reach children through their parents. How did CONAR change the game on broadcast TV by restricting explicitly children’s advertising?
Since the 1970s, when children were seen as a potential target audience, advertisers have been developing a desire to audience in audience in marketing marketing buy from children, even though they did not have purchasing power. Brands like Estrela the 1980s with jingles and theme songs that sold all of the brand’s products. “Every child has a Estrela in their heart.” However, nowadays, commercials at children are rare – if any.
Buy Baton: excessive consumerism!
In the 1990s, persuasive commercials such as “Buy Baton” and Mickey Mouse’s scissors to convince children, who were still developing emotionally, to buy certain products. However, over the years, children’s advertising began to lose space on broadcast TV and, as soon as this , the National Advertising Self-Regulation Council (CONAR) this type of advertising.
However, there are still places where it is possible to see advertisements directly at children: on pay TV and on the internet. The difference lies in the parents’ choice to pay for the child to watch the advertisement. While broadcast TV is free and open, which means that there is no total control over the programming choices, on subscription TV and on the internet, there is a payment for consumption. This means that the consumer has made a choice, including to watch the advertisements.
Can children watch advertising?
That’s why children left Bom Dia e Cia, which sold products through merchandising, and TV Globinho , some people argue. Of course, there are still sponsorships in SBT’s soap operas, which are at children. However, they are on an adult audience, mainly targeting parents – or at least they should be.
Because of this, advertising ends up focusing heavily on nostalgic and old-elements. Since it is difficult to attract new audiences from childhood, it may be necessary to win back adults. This is what Casas Bahia did, as we in our last blog. Several commercials for products at children try to use parents and their past experiences with the brand to realign consumption.
Ethics is the key word!
The main difference in the law, which came into effect in 2013, is the prohibition of merchandising using children and, especially, the placement of advertisements only in clearly commercial spaces, and children cannot be or to consume. However, the president of CONAR at the time that he is not against access to advertising for children and adolescents – as long as it is done ethically.
“Consumption is essential to people’s lives and we understand advertising as an essential part of . Depriving iran whatsapp number data children and adolescents of access to advertising weakens them, since responsible citizens and conscious consumers depend on information.” – He . Because of this, the path became a little more difficult, and TV Globinho, for example, to count on the interest of some brand that to sell products to adults.
Good practices: CONAR provides the necessary ingredients!
Advertisements clearly made with children and for children, more appealing and through merchandising, were all for pay TV. And that’s how Gloob came about, on a channel with much more to work with the target audience in a more assertive way.
There is also a guide to conduct email marketing campaigns good practices for advertising to children, free of charge by CONAR, which provides for ethics when working with this audience. SBT, for example, has already been for advertising brands such as Life Buoy and Barbie in the soap opera Carrossel, through Product Placement. Nowadays, this type of advertising no longer exists, only regular breaks – at adults.
Development: Children don’t buy anything
Respecting child and youth development, CONAR recognizes this age as a developmental phase in which a lot can be . Therefore, they state that “Advertising at children must take into account the condition of children and adolescents as individuals in development, undertaking actions that preserve their cmo email list image and identity in the , and consider the impact of communication on the ethical and social values of children, adolescents and their families.”
Among the most important issues, CONAR requests that the commercial not be with false promises, and that it clearly states the risks in that particular consumption. In addition, it requests that the message be clear, and that it be clearly that it is an advertisement.
And finally, it requires that the presence and authorization of parents be a constant condition for consumption, not allowing any use of advertising on the internet alone. It is worth remembering that any advertising on the internet that fails to comply with any protocol is subject to complaint – the internet is not a no man’s land!
Challenge with alternatives: how to sell children’s products?
Therefore, it is easy to say that it is a challenge to sell any children’s product since either the brand to communicate with the parents, who are ultimately responsible for finalizing the purchase, or it is necessary to choose an open, explicit language that is still not imperative or mandatory.
There is some controversy surrounding the end of TV programs aimed at children. Some argue that this regulation of children’s advertising was decisive, since, without the sponsorship of a brand aimed at children, the program would not be sustainable.
Another group, in turn, argues that it was Generation Z and Alpha themselves that were losing interest in consuming these programs – a reflection of the low audience ratings for these programs and the high popularity of YouTubers and other digital celebrities. However, this is not a discussion with a clear answer and it could all have been a combination of factors.
You can: but responsibly!
“The efforts of parents, educators, authorities and the community must find in advertising a supporting factor in the formation of responsible citizens and conscious consumers. Given this perspective, no advertisement shall direct an imperative appeal to consumption directly to children”, states article 37 of CONAR.