The influence TV advertisements have over children is really astonishing. An eight-year-old child in my neighborhood knows three or four brands of each product advertised on television. What is more, he can tell the story of each advertisement. Needless to say he dedicates a great deal of his time to television. He tells me TV commercials are much more interesting than a Tom and Jerry cartoon. The way kids talk!
The child is not just a viewer of TV advertisements; he is a buyer as well. Not quite a buyer but a decision-maker. Whether it is toothpaste or a mosquito repellant, it is the brand of his choice that gets bought in his house. His parents, both of whom are employed, are proud of their child's decision-making ability. The consumerism of the kid is not just astonishing but disturbing.
But this child is by no means an exception. In many affluent families as well as middle class ones in which both parents are employed, children are brand ambassadors: they insist that brands of their choice be bought, and parents do oblige. The brands of the kids' choice are often brands which are appealingly advertised on TV. In single child nuclear families where both parents are employed, what the kid says goes. And what he wants and what his parents invariably buy on his "advice" also include things which the family doesn't actually need.
Savvy marketing is the name of the game. The advertisement industry has done its homework: it knows the prevailing trends in families. One of those trends is that modern parents can hardly say no to their children. And they have means of obliging their children, namely, the availability of money – what is called disposable income. The industry exploits this by targeting children in its advertisements. A good number of ads have child appeal. In fact, children themselves are featured in many advertisements.
Krishnaveni, a friend of mine, gave an instance of how this child consumerism operates in her family. Her son has dandruff. He insists on shampoo of a particular brand which greatly appealed to him in a catchy TV commercial. Krishnaveni knows there are better ones on the market. But she has no option but to buy the brand of the child's choice. "We end up buying substandard stuff for the simple reason that we don't want to displease our child", she says.
Josephine, a colleague, brought to my notice something more disturbing. "You're slightly old-fashioned in talking about ads luring kids to buy products meant for kids. Ads have gone beyond that. They lure kids to insist on adults buying products meant for adults."
There is yet another dimension to consumerism on the part of children, pointed out by a letter-writer in a newspaper: "Once upon a time, children loved people and used products. Now, they use people and love products."
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