ADVERTISING AND CHILDREN One of the most controversial topics advertisers must deal with is the issue of advertising

to children Studies have also shown that tv is an important source of information for children about products. Critics argue that children are especially vulnerable to advertising because they lack the experience and knowledge to understand and evaluate critically the purpose of persuasive advertising appeals. They also feel that pre-school children cannot differentiate between commercials and programmes and cannot distinguish between reality and-fantasy. Critics charge that advertising to children is inherently unfair and deceptive and should be banned. On the other hand are those that advertising is a part of life and children must learn to deal with it in consumer socialization process of acquiring the skills needed to function in the marketplace. Some feel that parents should be involved in helping children interpret advertising and can refuse to purchase products they believe are undesirable for their children. Some countries have strict guidelines for advertising to children The issues of advertising directed to children has been receiving greater attention recently. There is also a growing concern over how advertisers are using the internet to communicate with and sell their products to children. Advertising to children will remain a controversial topic. Some groups feel that government is responsible for protecting children from the potentially harmful effects of advertising while others argue that parents are ultimately responsible for doing so. It is important to many companies to communicate directly with children However only by being sensitive to the native of children as consumers will they be abide to do so freely and avoid the conflict with those who believe children should be protected from advertising. One group feels that banning tv ads will den)' advertisers the right of free speech to communicate with other audience members. They also feel that no authority has the professional competence to serve as the 'national nanny' deciding what children should be exposed to. They say children are aware that fruits and vegetables are more nutritious than the highly sugared foods. There have been attempts to ban sugared food products directed to or seen by children with nutritional and or health disclosures It is reported that children between the ages of two and eleven spend about 25 hours per week watching television and see approx 20,000 ads per year and 7,000 of these ads are for sugared products.

Realizing that children are imaginative and that make-believe play constitutes and important part of the growing-up process, advertisers should exercise care not to exploit the imaginative quality of children. Unreasonable expectation of product quality or performance should, not be stimulated either directly or indirectly by advertising Recognizing that advertising may play an important, part in educating the child, information should be communicated in a truthful and accurate, manner with full recognition by the advertiser a that the, 'child may learn practices from advertising that can affect his or her health and well-being The controversy on ads aimed at children has generated an ongoing steam of research on the effects of childrens advertising. Although many influences affect a child's personal and social development it remains the prime responsibility of the parent to provide guidance for children. Advertisers should contribute to this parent-child relationship in a constructive manner. Advertising and Women The portrayal of women in advertising is an issue that has received a great deal of attention through the years. Advertising has been criticized for stereotyping women and failing to recognize the role of women in our society. Critics have argued that advertising often depicts women as dcor objects or sexually provocative figures. Gender stereotyping has varied little over time. Women has been shown as lacking intelligence and credibility. Gender stereotyping is also prevalent in ads aimed at children. Boys are shown as being more knowledgeable, active, aggressive and instrumental than girls. Dominance and control are associated more with boys than girls. Feminist argue that advertising that portrays women as sex objects contributes to violence again women. While sexism and stereotyping still exist, advertising's portrayal of women is improving in many areas. Many advertisers have begun to recognize the importance of portraying women realistically. The increase in the number of working women has resulted not only in women having more family decision making but also in more single-female households, which mean more independent purchasers. Women have now crossed the boundary from the domestic sphere to the professional arena, expectations and representations of women have changed as well. Many ads arc now depicting women in a diversity of roles that reflect their changing place in society. In many ads, the stereotyping traits attributed to women have shifted from weak and dependent to strong and autonomous.

Advertising and youth Youth is seen as the most global segment as it is. felt they show amazing similarities in taste, interest, language and attitude, music, fashion, film, video games & technology for global culture. The youth in USA Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia are surfing the net talking on their cell phones, playing their video games, watching MTV, drinking Coke and Pepsi Young consumers around die world are spending, substantial money Global youth is very ripe and growing market as there are over 200 million teens in Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim countries of Asia along with 40 million in USA and Canada. There are; -21 % of US is 14 years and under -25% in China -33% in India -37% in Philippines -29% in Brazil -27% in Argentina Many youth around the globe have a strong interest in US culture and lifestyle and their hunger for Americana is being fed by their access to satellite tv and The net. Music, movie and sports are universal language for young people Celebrates with global appeal appear in. ads targeting youth; Pepsi (Britney Spears), Tiger-Woods, Michal Jordan. (Nike). The most important characteristic of young consumers globally is the sense of collectivist values have been die norm. Although there are similarities of global youth^ cultural differences still exist from one country to another. Gender Roles Gender roles refer to the roles that women and men are expected to hold in a society When one engages in business or advertising internationally, it is important to understand the role that women are expected to hold in the respective society. In East Africa and in parts of West Africa (Nigeria) the role of women in business is crucial and more important than the role of men. However men still hold an important

decision-making role when it comes to major sales or purchase decisions In India and Pakistan women share responsibility with men in business. Women play a more limited role politically where a few hold notable positions, despite women leaders who have left important legacies in these countries. In most traditional Islamic countries, women's business activities are channeled toward interaction in a womenonly environment. In Saudi Arabia women depend on men in the family for simple activities, such as driving them to and from a destination; the law does not permit women to drive a car. Personal services can be .performed only by individuals of the same gender. Eg women can bank only at women's bank , can have their hair done only by other women. The genders, typically do not interact in the very traditional Islamic countries except within the family. Even in less traditional Islamic countries women are seated separately from men. In countries such as Turkey and Pakistan women have historically held prominent government positions. In Saudi Arabia women cannot be portrayed in ads. It is appropriate to show the covered arms and wrists of a woman demonstrating a product use. In Malaysia . women should not be shown sleeveless, whereas in Turkey one can actually see ads of women modeling bras It is also necessary to study the Masculinity-Femininity Index for the gender roles. Controversial Advertising The controversy about many ads shows how our traditional conservative society is still trying to decide how much sexuality to allow in advertising. India's growing economy and rapid internationalization are adding co the issue as they challenge India's homegrown mores in new ways. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting refers all complaints of ads that are controversial to the ASCI, Advertising Standards Council of India, which is the industry's self-regulatory body. Once the ad-industry council has issued its opinion, the ministry has the final say. The ASCI has taken action on ads that it thought went too far. Dark Temptation ad showed a woman taking bites out of a man who is coated in chocolate after using the chocolate flavored deodorant, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stopped them from being broadcast after receiving a complaint from a viewer who found it offensive the shot of a woman biting the chocolate off a the man's bottom. The ASCI banned the ad and now the ad is shown without the woman biting off the chocolate Wild Stone, a deodorant ad shows a woman tricking her way into her brother-in-law's arms because of the effect his deodorant has on her. The brands tag Line says 'barely

legal'. Another deo ad called Fuel for Men launched by Elder Health Care Ltd in affiance with VLCC Healthcare Ltd, shows a woman so attracted to a man using the product that she starts unbuttoning her blouse. The ASCI, after receiving a complaint contact the respective advertisers for their explanation before raking a decision to pull these ads off-air. These companies, however say they have not stepped out of Lice with the above commercials. They feel that there are certain category truths that are known to sue products like toothpaste results in clean teeth and shampoo in clean hair. Similarly, fragrances are associated with attraction and the above ads are based on that premise. The ad agency that created these ads also defended it. They argued that behavioral scientist have established that males groom themselves for the female species and that is exactly what the ad is reflecting. However, it may be that males groom themselves for the female species, the objection is the reaction of the female in the ads that is offensive. It is demeaning to women There are several ads on deodorants that have raised objections such as Fa Men's Xtreme and Zatak: are also airing ads with sexual overtones. These ads gained ground after the campaign for the Axe deo ad The Axe ad has been the only body spray to face scrutiny from the government even though competitors have run racy ads of their own. The Amul Macho underwear ad was another very controversial ad which was found very offensive showed a young women comes to a river to wash her husband's clothes. She pulls pair of men brief shorts from the laundry pile and begins to wash it, giving sultry looks to the camera: and throwing her head back in a suggestive manner. The ad ends with a breathy female voice saying 'Amul Macho' crafted for fantasies. Pepsi ad Was banned after human right groups said it promoted child labour. It depicted a young Indian boy bringing drinks to the Indian National Cricket team. The ad was withdrawn. India is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is committed to put an end to child labour in any form. A cancer vaccine commercial seen on Indian Television urge parents to get their young girls inoculated the vaccine Gardasil to protect against cervical cancer, the second most major cancer in women. What the ad hides is that it is matter of a controversy in the USA. It was launched in India in October 2008 with television ads. Advertising prescription on television is unethical enough, but using fear to sell them is worse. Gardasil is an efficient vaccine but the safety and risk information about it has not been available to parents. Anchor and Havells were involved in a hair raising controversy. Anchor electrical accused Havells of copying a concept for its hair raising television commercial and demanded that Havells take the campaign off the ad. The Havells as showed a boy whose everyday life is disrupted when his hair stands on

end because he used a faulty switch at home. Anchor claimed the concept was taken from a previous television ad created for Anchor switches. Anchor wrote a letter to Havells to stop airing the ad. Havells said they had not received the letter. An insurance ad showing a father in a hospital carrying a new born baby girl saying hai to pyari magar boj hai bhari. The authorities in Delhi had the ad scrapped. The makers of complan moved the Mumbai High Court to stop the Horlicks from airing their Horlicks ad which said it had all the required 23 nutrients but was still Priced at Rs. 128 against Rs. 174 the price of complain. The Mumbai High Court refused to grant any relief to the makers of Complan.