NCJ Number
117896
Date Published
1988
Length
68 pages
Annotation
Since children between 6 and 8 years of age are a key focus for many of the company's clients and new product efforts, Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising has re-examined the world of the child in order to create advertising and products that speak directly and relevantly to children.
Abstract
The four interrelated arenas of child development are emotional, cognitive, cultural, and physical. Emotional themes of childhood include attachment and separation, attainment of power, social interaction, and mastery/learning. Both advertising and new product development can take advantage of the fact that young children are like improvisational actors in their play, constantly transforming the real world and its rules. Young children may relate better to fantasy in advertising if commercials move into fantasy as children do, with the child first as observer and then as participant. Advertising will be appealing if it helps children overcome their feelings of powerlessness. Children can be depicted as struggling with their vulnerabilities and overcoming them or as already in a position of power. Many products represent ideal opportunities to depict the nurturing aspects of social interaction, particularly the child-parent relationship. Advertising can portray the benevolent aspects of children's relationships with siblings and peers. Products can be successful if they are based on traditional culture patterns and on up-to-date technology that facilitates children's desire to learn. The use of an adolescent or adult advertising style will be appealing to young children because they use imitation as the first step to mastery. Manifestations of attachment, separation, attainment of power, social interaction, and mastery/learning issues are noted in appendixes.