Advertisements have a far-reaching impact on children. They influence their tender minds in three ways, viz., cognitive effect, attitudinal effect and behavioral effect. Children readily get attracted to the advertised products due to their observable features, but their consumer knowledge of the same does not exceed beyond the surface level. The impact of advertisements on the various age groups of children varies depending upon their knowledge of existing brands, parental supervision, mode of delivery of the advertisement and other variables. Parents, ad visualizers, marketers and governments have to make a concerted effort to reduce the negative impact of advertisements on children.

Have you ever come across a situation where the television is switched on in the presence of children and they do not get glued to the screen? The most common answer is `No'. On careful assessment upon observation, it appears that most children love to watch the advertisement jingles that come in between the daily soaps or films or matches shown on the television. By using the term `children', I do not only mean those belonging in the age group of 5 to 17 plus and strictly not 18 years, but also toddlers belonging to the age group of 0 to pre-5 years. Of course, the reason for their viewing is their attraction to the streak of light that jets out of the television and the shift in the nature of images. Such viewing however makes one thing clear, advertising does play an important role in a child's life.

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