Учебное пособие по дисциплине «Английский язык»

Many people are concerned about the effects advertising has on children. Television adver­tising for toys and breakfast cereals, in particu­lar, has come under fire from watchdog groups. The TV networks themselves have established highly restrictive guidelines for children's ad­vertising, and all ads submitted for Saturday morning programs undergo close scrutiny by network censors. Many advertisers complain that network regulations are so precise that no room is left for creativity in ads. For example, only 10 seconds of a toy ad may contain animation and other special effects, and the last 5 seconds must display all toys shown earlier in the ad and disclose whether they are sold separately and whether batteries are included. Advertising to children is also policed by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The coun­cil's staff monitors commercials on network children's shows and checks ads in children's comics and magazines against the following guidelines:

1. Advertisers should always take into account the level of knowledge, sophistication, and ma­turity of the audience to which their message is primarily directed. Younger children have a limit­ed capability for evaluating the credibility of what they watch. Advertisers, therefore, have a special responsibility to protect children from their own susceptibilities.

2. Realizing that children are imaginative and that make-believe play constitutes an important part of the growing-up process, advertisers should exercise care not to exploit that imagina­tive quality of children. Unreasonable expecta­tions of product quality or performance should not be stimulated either directly or indirectly by advertising.

3.Recognizing that advertising may play an im­portant part in educating the child, information should be communicated in a truthful and ac­curate manner with full recognition by the ad­vertiser that the child may learn practices from advertising that can affect his or her health and well-being.

4. Advertisers are urged to capitalize on the po­tential of advertising to influence social behavior and to develop advertising that, wherever possi­ble, addresses itself to social standards generally regarded as positive and beneficial, such as friendship, kindness, honesty, justice, and respect for others.

5. Although many influences affect a child's personal and social development, it remains the prime respon­sibility of the parents to provide guidance for children. Advertisers should contribute to this parent-child re­lationship in a constructive manner.
The Issue of Issue Ads
The TV commercial depicts a dilapidated court­room 30 years from now. Testifying in front of a teenage prosecutor and a jury of other young­sters, an old man tries to explain why nothing was done decades before to protect them from the ravages of deficit spending: "It was all go­ing to work out somehow, but no one was willing to make the sacrifices. When the young prose­cutor says, "In 1986, the national debt had reached $2 trillion. Didn't that frighten you?" The old man shrugs helplessly. "Are you ever going to forgive us?"

This commercial, produced by W. R. Grace & Co., was rejected by all three networks. The networks claimed the ad violated their policies against carrying "issue" advertising that advo­cates a particular point of view. Part of their concern stemmed from the Fairness Doctrine, which requires giving equal time to opposing points of view. But the networks also have a pol­icy of rejecting advocacy ads if they feel that such ads allow those with the most money to have their opinions heard. The Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that networks can reject paid editorial messages without violating the Communications Act or the First Amendment. The Grace case has prompted some commen­tators to point out, however, that the networks may have gotten too paranoid in their attempts to determine what might or might not be "con­troversial." The Grace commercial was accept­ed and aired by cable networks and indepen­dent stations as well as by some network companies. At one point in the controversy over the network

rejection of the ad, 122 independent TV stations banded together and aired the com­mercial as a public-service announcement, free of charge. CBS eventually accepted the ad af­ter Grace made one minor change in it, and ABC subsequently said it would accept the ad if it were resubmitted. NBC, however, stood by its evaluation of the commercial as "controver­sial" and refused to air it. Corporations that wish to place issue ads on network television argue that the airwaves be­long to the public and that it is a violation of their First Amendment rights for the networks not to carry their ads.

The networks defend their position by citing the 1973 Supreme Court decision and by pointing out that they are fulfilling their obligations to free speech and public service through their news and public affairs programming.