Summary
The current paper investigates the effectiveness and the persuasion process of threat appeals on children. Disregarded by scholars, probably for ethical reasons, the study of negative appeals targeting 8- to 12-year-olds to promote healthy food seems nevertheless relevant, in the unprecedented context of childhood obesity. To test our assumptions, an experiment was set up with 126 children. Results indicate that the appeal is effective and that the persuasion process of threatening advertisements is led by affective reactions. In contrast to earlier research on older targets, cognitive processes do not improve its effectiveness. Furthermore, exposure to threat appeals increased pre-adolescents’ healthy food consumption in comparison with appeals that may be considered more ‘typical’, such as fun and action. These conclusions and a teleological perspective of ethics invite further study of threat appeals targeting children.

Summary
Many critics have raised concerns about online advertising directed to children. This study investigated the role of several antecedent variables that may impact children’s attitudinal and behavioural responses to online advertising. Specifically, online ad scepticism, family communication patterns, time spent on the internet, and perceived internet competency were examined as factors that may impact children’s online advertising attitudes and behaviours. A survey conducted with a dyad sample of 381 parents–preteens in South Korea revealed that children with high scepticism towards online advertising, who spent less time using the internet and who perceived lower levels of confidence about their internet skills were more likely to have a negative attitude towards online advertising and less likely to disclose personal information to online marketers. However, the relationship between family communication and children’s responses to online advertising found in this study was inconsistent with the previous empirical findings. Implications of findings are discussed and directions for future research suggested

Summary
This research compares two competing views – the integration view and the interference view – to see whether presenting a brand placement in multiple modalities can enhance its effectiveness. Our results first show that majority of the children can not recall a brand placement embedded in a video game. Our results further demonstrate that presenting a brand placement in a single modality makes children more likely to choose the target brand at test than presenting it in multiple modalities. These results have important implications for both public policy makers and marketing managers.

Summary
This paper is aimed at exploring African children’s attitudinal reactions to television advertisements. A total of 65 children from four African countries – Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda – participated in 12 focus group discussions on the subject matter. Findings suggest that they like television advertising in relation to its entertainment features – especially when the messages feature children characters, cartoons, music, celebrities and humour – and those promoting foods. They also derive excitement from advertising messages that are presented in Pidgin language and/or humorously integrated with local languages. However, they have an aversion to messages that terrify them and those they consider boring. This paper supplements the existing literature on the attitudes of children to advertising, but from Africa as a different contextual platform. It also suggests directions for the effective use of marketing communications strategies in relation to television advertising for marketers and other bodies with special roles in communicating with children such as government agencies and NGOs.

Summary
As consumers improve their eHealth literacy skills, their trust in commercial Web sites - even ones that provide reliable information - might decrease. Informed by the persuasion knowledge model, this study examined how much adolescents trusted and relied on commercial and brand Web sites as a source of health information. Both before and after an eHealth literacy intervention among 182 middle-schoolers, students perceived commercial and brand Web sites to be the least reliable and trustworthy sources of health information. Practical and managerial implications are discussed regarding advertisers' efforts in the age of new media to uphold social responsibility and regain consumer trust.

Summary
An in-depth look at children's development, considering child psychology, recent developments in neuroscience, sociological studies, social competence, and children's understanding of advertising. This review shows that whilst it is the case that children can recognise advertising at a young age (4- 5) it is not until they reach middle childhood (age 8-12) that children understand advertising, and it is not until they reach adolescence, age 12 plus, that children can understand the commercial intent of advertising.

Summary
This article presents a synthesis of our prior work in consumer socialization of children. We focus discussion on parents as consumer-socialization agents and offer a review of the effects of parents as agents of children’s consumer socialization as moderated by parental styles. Our research has uncovered one particular parental style—“authoritatives”—that appears to be more engaged in consumer socialization. We also review the more limited work on how parental styles may actually influence children and suggest avenues for future research that incorporates the parental style framework. These additional research possibilities include investigating what inherent parental characteristics may account for regarding the unique consumer-socialization formats that parents may use with children.

Summary
While there was concern expressed by parents on many issues affecting their children’s well-being, advertising and marketing to children was not perceived to be a huge problem. However, it appears that many parents feel on the back foot when it comes to understanding fully the media children now consume. This stems largely from a lack of knowledge, creating a 'fear of the unknown'.

Summary
The aim of this study was to investigate children’s understanding of six popular tactics used by advertisers to elicit certain advertising effects, including ad repetition, product demonstration, peer popularity appeal, humour, celebrity endorsement and premiums. We first asked 34 advertisers of child products to indicate what kind of effects (e.g. ad or product recall, learning and liking) they intend to elicit by using each of the six tactics. Subsequently, in a survey among 209 children (aged 8–12) and 96 adults (>18), we investigated the extent to which children understood advertisers’ intended effects of these tactics and how this compared to an adult benchmark. Results showed that children’s understanding of advertisers’ tactics increased progressively between the ages of 8 and 12, showing a significant increase around age 10. The age at which children reach an adult level of understanding differed by tactic. For example, the use of celebrity endorsement was generally understood at an earlier age than other tactics, whereas product demonstration was understood at a later age.

Summary
Many businesses fail to consider children when it comes to branding, product development, market research and communication. This article looks at the difference stages of cognitive development, social development and children's games, based on the work of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. This is then connected with advertising practice. Understanding the stage of the child is critical to understanding the way in which the product or communication is perceived.