Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Jan 09, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Jan 09, 2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
Marketing
-
Marketing Research Balanced edutainment need of the hour: Study Vinson Kurian
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Jan. 8 A STUDY on `Re-empowering disempowered children and young people through communication' has observed that media managers have a responsibility to maintain a fine balance between education and entertainment, whether it is in the form of educational programmes aiming to entertain as well, or of pure entertainment carrying a particular message. The study, authored by Prof Joy Joseph, faculty in Commerce at the Bharat Mata College, Thrikakkara, Ernakulam, subjected a series of TV ads promoting sales of FMCG/white goods for assessing their impact on children below the age of 15 in Kerala. The study strongly recommended censorship of `disempowering' concepts and content targeted at consumers below the age of 15. Explaining the concept, Prof Joseph said disempowering programmes were those which had a significant negative impact on an individual's development. "When it comes to the care and protection and well-being of children, there's a special responsibility on us to provide them with exposure that is at least neutral in terms of any impact any product or programme might have on them. At the same time, it is our responsibility to protect our children from products and programmes that can be shown to have significant deleterious impact," he said. The greatest danger is not of evil intent but in the failure of child-targeted programme creators, developers, marketers and decision-makers in standing up to and acting on what they know to be true regarding products and programmes with the potential to damage children's minds, he said. When the pressure mounts to produce something that clearly has the potential for negative impact on children and young people - such as excessively violent, sexist, stereotypical or prejudicial culture or gender role concepts, sexually suggestive ideas - all of those in the advertising business have to "extricate themselves from the corporate almighty that might just let these aberrations happen" and take a stand against it. Three TV advertisements on Dabur Lal Vajradanthi, Maruti Esteem and Videocon Washing Machine were subjected to study. The overall result of TV images entering the living rooms directly is that children are becoming precocious, demanding and alienated from traditional norms and culture, Prof Joseph said. Advertising on children promotes superficiality and values founded in material goods and consumption. Children being inexperienced consumers are easy prey to persuasions of advertisers, and ads influencing children's demands for everything, create an environment of child-parent conflict. The European Union, Austria and Italy have regulated advertising along these lines. The study highlighted the role of classroom communication in instilling a sense of social responsibility among children and young people who are living under pressure from market forces.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|