I sat and watched a few different channels on the TV with my four-year-old grandson. I just observed while he watched and took notes. The channels were Nickelodeon, Disney Junior, and Nickelodeon Junior. I observed the following commercials:
- Furreal Friends-this ad was selling furry bunnies and puppies. Its emphasis was on friends and pets. It stated that if the child were to have one of these furry pets they would always have a friend. It showed multiple children playing with these pests. It was also gender specific in the way it showed the girls playing with the cute, furry little rabbits, and the boys were playing with the small, rigged puppies.
- Hot Wheels-this commercial was definitely gender related. This Hot Wheels commercial showed only boys playing with this toy, racing and jumping down the race track. It was cool and colorful, loud and fast. The message in this commercial was strictly geared towards boys only and made my grandson instantly want it. Buy this toy and you will have instant gratification playing with it.
- Vaseline-they threw this one in between child advertising. This one showed very soft hands, rubbing the lotion onto the skin. I wondered why they threw this one in on a kid’s channel. But, soon I realized why, my grandson looked at me and said, “Grandma you need to buy some of that stuff, it will make you whole body smooth and soft”, I had to laugh because the commercial served its purpose. The message was loud and clear, use this product (for women) and you too can have soft smooth skin.
- To Move or Not to Move-this was a commercial about advertising hidden exercising. It showed young children deciding what kind of play they wanted to do next. It showed children running, jumping, swimming, riding bikes and much more. It shoed all young children both boys and girls getting up and exercising through play.
- Fish with no Water-this commercial was a very sad one. It showed a bright orange gold fish laying on a white table, out of water and trying to breath. It stated that a child with asthma often feels this way. It played on the children’s emotions, and makes them think, the point was made, loud and clear. It was educational, because my grandson wanted to know what asthma was and I explained it to him, he said, “how sad”. I think a child with asthma would appreciate this commercial because it allows other children to become aware of their condition.
Commercials are designed to be persuasive communication that offers information about products, ideas, and services that serve as messages to young children, they wish to deliver. TV commercials can affect children by increasing their food and beverage intakes, change their attitude, and make parents feel like they have to buy unnecessary things. I think the biggest influence commercials have on our young children is how each gender should behave. They create their ads to send a message about gender by using the norms society has known and reinforced. Most of the commercials represent how boys and girls should act.
