Abstract:

The main objective of this paper is to highlight some of the common pitfalls associated with the execution of television advertising addressed wholly or in part to a child audience. For a variety of reasons much of the television advertising to this market seems to take little or no account of the way in which children develop and of the constraints and opportunities for effective communication which arise at different stages of development in a child's life. The paper therefore attempts to show what the classical theory of the development of learning implies for audio-visual communication to various segments within the broad age category of four to eleven years old. It is illustrated by evidence taken from specific creative development research projects undertaken on behalf of agency clients, over the past two years. Their fields of interest cover confectionery, soft drinks and toys.