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CHILDREN'S ADVERTISING AND ITS IMPACT MECHANISMS
Khudayberganova Makhbuba Meylibayevna
PhD student, Uzbekistan State World Languages University
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15030145
The influence of advertising on society’s culture necessitates its thorough
evaluation. Nowadays, creating effective advertising involves specialists from
various fields such as psychology, sociology, marketing, and linguistics. At the
same time, governments establish laws that regulate the content, structure, and
display of advertisements while also monitoring the quality of products or
services. For example, in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
and the Children's Advertising Practice Code impose strict requirements on
advertisements targeted at children [AANA, n.d.].
Regulating advertisements by law and monitoring product quality are of
great importance, as children are part of the audience and may not fully
understand them. Children encounter advertisements everywhere: in mass
media, on the streets, in transportation, and even at home. Research shows that
children aged 6 to 11 watch an average of 28 hours of television per week and
see nearly 20,000 commercials per year [Moore & Lutz, 2000]. The number of
30-second commercials broadcast per hour of children's television
programming can reach up to 24 on weekdays and up to 21 on weekends. If a
child watches just one hour of television per day, they may be exposed to around
160 advertisements per week.
Since the 1970s, debates have continued regarding children's ability to
understand advertisements. A study conducted in 1983 by Goldberg and Gorn
[Brucks, Goldberg, & Armstrong, 1986] revealed that most children under the
age of 8 do not comprehend the commercial intent of television advertisements.
Children aged 8 to 10 have a partial understanding, while by the age of 11, they
fully grasp the sales-driven nature of advertising. For instance, according to
Piaget's theory of cognitive development, children under 7 are still in the
concrete operational stage, meaning they struggle with understanding abstract
concepts.
The analysis of advertising texts and the study of their influence are highly
relevant today. An effective advertising text should have the following
characteristics:
Credibility
(based on factual evidence);
Logical and understandable
structure;
Concise and clear
expression;
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Original and engaging
content;
Unique and attention-grabbing
nature.
The linguistic features of advertising texts include:
Active use of synonyms
;
Extensive use of word combinations beyond general language norms
;
Developed polysemy (multiple meanings of words)
;
Short sentences combined with high informativeness
;
Expressiveness and persuasiveness
;
Originality and goal-oriented structure
;
Striving for maximum text conciseness
.
Based on the research of linguists
D.E. Rosenthal and N.N. Kochtev
, it can be
stated that advertising texts serve two main functions:
informing and persuading
.
Any advertising text is clear and targeted, helping to differentiate a product or
service from its competitors. For example,
McDonald's Happy Meal
advertisements use a cheerful and appealing language aimed at children,
capturing their attention and generating interest in the product.
There is still insufficient research specifically focused on advertising texts
aimed at children. The creation of advertising texts that consider children's age
characteristics and the study of their psychological impact should become a new
area of advertising research. Literature analysis shows that advertising texts
have been studied from various perspectives, but systematic research
specifically on children’s advertising texts has not yet been sufficiently
conducted.
No matter how attractive the children's advertising market may be,
meeting the needs of young consumers is not easy. Their behavior and
perception processes differ from those of adults. For example, children are more
susceptible to visual and emotional influences, making it easier to engage them
through vibrant colors, cartoon characters, and repetitive jingles. However, the
children's product market remains promising, and marketers continue to
explore effective ways to influence children's minds.
Studying advertising texts aimed at children is a highly relevant issue.
Children lack sufficient protection against advertisements, so advertising for
them must be clear, understandable, and aligned with ethical standards. For
example, in the European Union, there are strict regulations on advertising
materials targeted at children, with a particular emphasis on promoting healthy
food products. Since advertising affects children's cognition and speech
development, conducting systematic research on children's advertising and
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developing texts that are appropriate for young audiences is of great
importance.
References:
1.
AANA. (n.d.). Children’s Advertising Code. Australian Association of
National Advertisers. Retrieved from https://aana.com.au.
2.
Brucks, M., Goldberg, M. E., & Armstrong, G. M. (1986). Children's cognitive
responses to advertising. Advances in Consumer Research, 13(1), 650–654.
3.
Moore, E. S., & Lutz, R. J. (2000). Children, advertising, and product
experiences: A multimethod inquiry. Journal of Consumer Research, 27(1), 31–
48. https://doi.org/10.1086/314307.
4.
Rozental, D.E., & Kokhtev, N.N. (1981). The language of advertising texts.
Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola.
