In Sweden and Norway, TV advertising and sponsorship of programs aimed at children below the age of 12 are prohibited. In Greece, the advertising of toys on television is banned between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m, In Austria and the Flemish part of Belgium no advertising is permitted 5 minutes before or after children's programs. Australia does not allow advertisements during pre-school children's programs. Why countries are hell-bent on regulating commercials targeted at children? Is India any different in this regard? Does it need to learn any lessons? Deepak unravels.

According to an international survey carried out by Roper Starch worldwide among 2,400 kids in the age-group of 7-12, the total monthly expenditure on snacks for kids was $1,400 mn. Out of this while $1,200 mn worth was purchased by adults for kids, $200 mn worth of snacks was bought directly by the kids themselves. The pre-dominant mantra seems to be "more". More food, more toys and more collectibles. Fuelled by the significant buying power of kids, we have been seeing a plethora of ads targeted at them. The ads are not only promoting products related to kids (like confectionery and biscuits) but also selling goods like ACs, cars etc!

Marketers and management thinkers air divergent views on targeting/featuring kids in ads. They opine that, "kids are increasingly wielding their power in major purchase decisions made in the house, so it makes sense to target them". On the other hand brand managers say they want to catch these early consumers and make them loyal to their brands. And on portraying children in commercials, a child provides an emotional platform and the presence of a child communicates the family emotion; a chance to stand out in the clutter of other advertisements.

All around the globe, food advertisements constitute the major part of all advertising. The Consumers International (a worldwide federation of consumer organizations working to protect and promote people's rights) did an International Comparative Study on food advertisements aimed at children in Europe and Asia. The result indicates that it was largely the junk-food sector, which advertised aggressively targeting kids.

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