Advertising and Media Education

Advertising and Media Education (2-6)

Advertising accompanies children in their everyday lives and should therefore be addressed by parents in an effective way. Parents may be uncertain about the topic of advertising and have questions about it. If parents are given insights into the media education work on the topic and into the child's perception of advertising as well as tips on information offers, this can be very helpful for the parents and is bound to strengthen their educational partnership.

An important piece of information for parents is above all that the topic of advertising in the family is primarily relevant when visiting a toy shop or buying groceries in the supermarket, since children can express clear preferences for certain products very early on. However, it is often difficult for them to explain why they prefer that particular pudding or toy. Parents can also encounter their children's consumption wishes that they do not want to fulfil or that they do not understand. That the children have enthusiasm for this or that product due to advertising, however, is clear to many parents.

In addition to advertising goods and services, there are advertisements of social causes, events, etc. Advertising is not a bad thing, but it is very important to recognise a message as advertising and the technique to influence. Online advertising merges with everything else – media publications, personal publications, scientific texts, etc. It can be targeted to different users according to their preferences and thus have a greater impact on them.

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Skills and competences that are important to support this age group:

Parents should recognise the influence of advertising in children’s buying wishes.
The attention of parents and children in this age group should be focused on commercial messages, as children are particularly vulnerable to the suggestions of advertising and advertising is often veiled and mimics other media formats.
Parents should help their children to recognise advertising and themselves be able to discover and uncover the most common advertising strategies

Areas where children between 2 and 6 years need support:

Most children in this age group can identify advertisements and distinguish them from television broadcasts, parents should help to strengthen these skills.
Children in this age group may not be able to distinguish between entertainment and advertising on YouTube - for example, the popular unpacking in videos or the combination of a giveaway with a toy promotion can be confusing for them.
They may not realise that the ads are trying to sell something.
Children tend to think of ads as fun or useful messages.
Generally, in this age group children will not be critical of advertisers' messages and claims.

Have a look at the article Advertising: how it influences children and teenagers that you can find in our link section to see the different developmental stages of children and get more tips on how to deal with advertising at this age. The Kit@ project provides information on how advertising affects young children and advice on how to develop skills to deal with it. The course Advertising is also linked in our resources section.

Exercise

In the previous modules we have shown what influence advertising already has on younger children, how advertising is perceived at this age, which advertising strategies are difficult to recognise at this age and how parents can accompany and support their children in recognising advertising.

Finally, summarise methods you can give parents to question the influence and intention of advertising already with young children. Enclosed are some suggestions, add your own ideas to the list and develop examples for implementation:

Accompanying consumption
Explanation of advertising strategies/ intention/ message
Questioning the advertising message (target group, reliability of the message, intention)
Recognise advertising and perceive the placement and frequency in different media
Production of advertising

If you are not sure how to implement these methods, take a look at our MediaParent tips at the end of each module. We often give you strategies to use during your parents' evening, if they are adapted to children they'll also work as suggestions for parents to implement media education at home.

What you learn in this course

You'll be able to use the knowledge from modules 1 and 2 to deduce in which areas children of this age group need guidance and instruction.
You'll be able to determine which competences children of this age group need in relation to advertising.
You'll be able to reproduce methods that can be used to train children of this age group to deal with advertising in a reflective and critical way.
You'll be able to formulate instructions and suggestions for media education at home.

Get ready: Tips for MediaParent consultants

Collect knowledge and sort it

Here’s a list of common advertising strategies. You could make a game out of collecting strategies with parents during your parents' evening as a group activity. Let them tell you how products are being sold in childrens advertisements and help them naming these strategies correctly. This knowledge will be useful when talking to children about strategies and intention of advertisement at home. Later, Parents could make a game out of this, asking their children to spot strategies together.

The bribe: you get a free toy when you buy a product and you’re encouraged to collect them all – for example, toys packaged with takeaway meals and small toys in cereal packets.
The game: you can play a game and win a prize if you buy a product.
The big claim or promise: a product tastes excellent, or it’s the best in the world. Or a product will bring you fun and excitement and make your life better – for example, you’ll have more friends or be able to run faster.
The appeal to emotions: the advertisement tugs at your heart strings or makes you afraid for your safety.
The super-person: popular or famous people promote a product to make you think you can be just like them if you have the product too.
The cartoon character: a cartoon character you know and like tells you about a product to make it more attractive.
The special effects: filming tricks like close-ups, soft lighting and artificial sets make a product look larger or better than it really is.
The repeat: showing the same thing over and over makes you remember and recognise a product.
The music: catchy tunes or popular songs make you like an advertisement – and the product it advertises – more.
The joke: laughing makes you like an advertisement – and the product it advertises – more.
The story: the advertisement tells an interesting story so you want to keep watching.

(Source: https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/play-learning/screen-time-media/advertising-children)

Encourage parents to create active experiences

When it comes to questioning the message of advertising, parents could be motivated to become active. In this age group, it is important to talk about the intentions and messages of advertising, but showing and experiencing it has an even stronger impact. Motivate parents to actively check the reliability of advertising messages. Is the tastiest yoghurt really that tasty? Are the strawberries pictured really in the yoghurt? For example, organise a food test and analyse different products in terms of taste and appearance. Compare the previously expressed ideas about the product with the actual "test results". In this way, the children can identify differences and similarities between the advertising promise and the actual product.