Advertising and children: what do the kids think?

Purpose – To question the models of childhood implied within contemporary UK debate about advertising to children. The paper identifies a role for qualitative market research in establishing a more fully‐articulated account of childhood, with implications for both policy makers and marketers.Design/methodology/approach – A brief literature review of contemporary sociological perspectives on childhood informs an account of controversy in the UK about the legitimacy of advertising to children. Adult versions of childhood from this debate are contrasted with children's own accounts of their experience of advertising, drawing on a pilot study using informal qualitative methods.Findings – Illuminates the assumptions about childhood which divide industry advocates from their critics, and suggests that qualitative understanding of children's experience of advertising should have a greater role in complementing the predominantly positivist research on which the debate draws.Research limitations/implications – Lim...