Influence of TV Commercials on Children

Television is already an influential means for entertainment and education, especially for children. However, today, it has the freedom to advertise both positive and negative messages, directly and indirectly.  Maybe too much freedom.

TV commercials are becoming more and more clever and controlling, especially those that target children.  When a company wants to produce profit, it seems like they are willing to do anything.  They create eye-catching commercials and useless products with a familiar cartoon on it. 

By hooking consumers at a young age, companies can develop brand loyalty in the future.  One commercial for a specific toy may be advertising for a bigger franchise. For example, a set of Spider Man action figures on a commercial have derived from the much bigger Spider Man franchise.  Under this franchise is a long list of products, which includes movies, games, clothes, bed sheets, stationary backpacks and more. With their interest in the action figures and cartoon, children will explore other products related to the toy, sky-rocketing the franchise’s sales just from that one commercial.

I never saw it that way, but after writing an essay for my Film and Video class, I really took it in.  I was also kind of irritated at the stupidness of some products and realized that it's the name brand that we are paying for, not necessarily the actual product and its quality.