Study weakens case for toy advert bans

Date: 19/11/1998

By Peter Chapman

NEW research by a leading group of academics attacks the "naive" view of politicians, clergy and teachers that children are not duped by flashy television adverts into buying toys and other products - or getting their parents to buy them.

Their report raises question marks over the effectiveness of the bans on commercials aimed at children imposed by some EU member states. It comes just weeks before the European Commission is due to consider once again whether to take legal action over Greece's controversial toy advertising ban - a move it has repeatedly put off since 1991 in the face of strong political pressure.

The team of Bonn University academics, led by psychology expert Professor Reinhold Bergler, claims that children become streetwise about the real purpose of advertising "at a considerably earlier age than the prejudice of naive psychology accepts".

"The results clearly disprove the assumption that children are helplessly at the mercy of advertising due to the assumed lack of cognitive orientation and judgement patterns," states their report.

In fact, it says, more than half the six-year-olds questioned for the study understood that the purpose of advertising was to sell something. The credibility of adverts is also questioned by children of the same age, according to the report, which says they quickly find out how to spot misleading or exaggerated claims about products.

"Children learn at an early age that practically all advertising functions with a specific exaggeration factor," it concludes.

Bergler and his team also reject arguments that children are likely to overturn their parents' decisions through weeks of "psycho terror" based on their positive reaction to advertisements. Instead, says the report, purchasing decisions "are the result of discussions as well as arguments between parent and child".

Bergler's findings cast doubt on the Greek government's arguments in support of its ban on toy advertising, which the advertising and toy industries wants to see outlawed. Under EU law, the Greek embargo can only be justified if it is "proportionate" to its stated objective of protecting children and if it does not unfairly target foreign firms. Toy exporters argue that the restrictions discriminate against their marketing efforts because they need advertising to raise awareness of their products more than well-established local producers.

Commission single market officials are currently analysing the results of a range of academic literature on child-focused advertising. But Lionel Stanbrook, chairman of the European Commercial Communications Forum, said he would be distributing the results of the Bonn research to European Commissioners ahead of next month's vote on the Greek ban.

"It is unusual because it is not carried out by a Briton or someone from one of the more laissez faire member states, but instead by Germans," he said.

Report of a study by a group of German academics (led by Professor Reinhold Bergler) on children and advertising.