The reality is that some companies have been gearing advertising towards children for many years. Mc Donald’s is one such company. This began with the creation of Ronald the child loving clown but continues today. For example in 1992 they launched the classic ‘Do you believe in magic” commercial, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hc7gVmoMoA&feature=related which depicts a group of children singing and playing with Ronald. The commercial also features magic.
In the span of 34 seconds this commercial uses three different persuasion techniques: fun, cartoons, one could also argue they are also using a celebrity because in today’s society Ronald’s face is probably more recognizable then that of our own president.
We see a group of children gathered with Ronald when he begins to sing and perform magic for the children. The children are all smiling, dancing and following Ronald around as hamburgers, shoes and pictures come to life. They use these advertising techniques because cartoons, magic, music and puppets are all things that the children love; they now associate all these things with the McDonald's franchise. These feelings, along with the lure of a Happy Meal toy, are all the motivations that children need to beg their parents to take them to McDonald's.
We need to be aware of the techniques advertisers use so that we can inform our children and teach them to be smart consumers.
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