The Effects of Commercials for Adult Products on Children

Abstract

The present study investigated the effect on children of exposure to TV commercials for adult products. An experiment was conducted testing the effects of exposure to commercials for lipstick and diet drinks. It was hypothesized that the effects would be greater for lipstick than for diet drinks, since the sample of nine- and ten-year-old girls utilized in this study saw themselves using that product in the future. The results indicated that lipstick TV commercials can influence children's perception of the products and brands that are associated with being an adult and thus perhaps the products and brands they should consume in the future. The results suggest that even if children are not presently consumers of a product class, exposure to TV advertising for these products may influence the perspective children have of the adult world.