New Findings: Adolescents and Digital Advertising

I listened to the Ellen Wartella excerpt with great curiosity in a search of something new. Unfortunately, the gist of her professional observational concern was a rather pedantic warning regarding teen vulnerability. Professor, we are all in the business of persuasion and yes, dare I say it, some level of manipulation. Appreciating the veritable bombardment of solicitations on our collective minds, it is extremely difficult to find any examples of predatory practices and, I scarcely think teens are any more vulnerable than any other demographic. When one considers that the average attention span of a teen is genetically a fraction of an adult's, I am certain they are actually better suited to defend against such a perceived onslaught. All effective advertising or sales techniques are designed to evoke emotion and arousal at some level. If we fail with this connection, principals quickly find a new agency or consultant. Given your corollary, perhaps we should ban all advertising in order to relieve everyone of the burden of incessant self-defense.
Anthony De Rubeis
Forte Enterprises
Management Consulting

at 01:00 she identifiews he fact that advetising aimed at senior citizens doesn't do it for teens.
"an argument an be made" --1:50ish... for anything at any time... but in this case that the industr ...that self-regulatory or regulatory regime."
ok. she's doing a commercial for psychologists as consultants based on fear of an unknown outside force "the regulators" coming in becuase there is talk about th need for them.
if she were actuallly skilled at the craft she might add that "agencies like yours who purchased psych consulants avoided the dread regulatory animosity 26% more effectively than those who used other consultants".. and maybe a call to action.
"in the literature"...which of course is only accessible to those who "act now."

Dear Anthony, "I scarcely think teens are any more vulnerable than any other demographic."...really? The teenage years are the MOST vulnerable years because that's when you are forming your belief systems, your moral compass, your personal choices, yourSELF as you know it. Why wouldn't we protect this age when it comes to "predatory practices" or "manipulation" through advertising?

Having successfully raised teens into responsible adults, I am in full understanding of their inherent vulnerability. However, such pressures remain far more likely to emanate from their peers than from ADS. Thanks to the internet, teens of today are totally different and completely tech-savvy versus those of only 20-years ago. And, while often foolish, they are certainly no longer "children." They know how to tune out the noise, perhaps even better than the boomers who were raised during the heyday of Madison Ave. In conclusion, I simply do not believe that any specific demographic needs greater protection that already exists within the marketing world. If a piece is deemed predatory, it is already violating ethics. If current regulatory practices do not address the issue, the consumer will, by not buying the product. If psychologists think that by some new regulation, they can now "protect" today's youth, they are closing the barn door after the horses have gone.