INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE PURCHASE DECISION MAKING OF CHILD CENTRED PRODUCTS

Media has occupied a pivotal role in our lives. The choice of purchasing any product is largely based on the advertisements in the media. Children over five years of age have the cognitive ability to comprehend and reason the information accurately. Marketers use this category of audience effectively, by creating promotional activities that are attractive to them. They use promotional characters and themes which increase the ‘pester power' in children and leads them to showcase all forms of tantrums to get their wants satisfied by their parents. Brand knowledge is instilled in children through these advertisements which affect the economic and social life of the parents. When children buy only their favourite brand of products, their health is also at stake. It leads to an increase in conditions such as obesity, overweight, other lifestyle diseases and also brings about a shift in the consumption attitudes, value for money and also stunted social life. This paper focuses on the influence of advertisements in the decision-making process of child- centred products. As marketers do not stop the creation of attractive advertisements, and with the increase in peer communication among children, there comes about an increase in parent-child conflicts that disrupt peaceful family systems and also leads to unhappier and discontented children in families. Parents have to take effective measures to overcome these situations and bring up more, healthier, happier and contended children