Introduction

If a child watches TV, he or she must be watching junk food ads. With dancing lepricones and cuddly bears, companies do a great job selling their products in the most entertaining and memorable ways. For younger kids, this kind of marketing is especially hard to resist. Advertisements that target children take them to magical lands, connect with cartoon characters or celebrities, and even give them super powers. An example of such ad is UK Weetabix’s Chocolate Spoonsize cereal broadcast advertising. It features a little girl performing a street dance in her bedroom. The first scene of the ad is the girl sitting in her bedroom and having a boring regular morning. As soon as she tastes the chocolate cereal, she starts a high energy street dance, her teddy bears come alive and join her dance. It feels like she has a super power that moves not only toys but curtains and furniture. In the end, the ad shows three kids sitting in her room and witnessing the dance, which makes them impressed. The ad proceeds by stating that Weetabix’s Chocolate Spoonsize cereal is a fuel for fun.

Evaluating the Advertisement Based on the TARES Test

The TARES Test consists of the five principles: Truthfulness (of the message), Authenticity (of the persuader), Respect (for the persuadee), Equity (of the persuasive appeal) and Social Responsibility (for the common good) (Baker & Martinson, 2001). The first principle of the test requires that the message is not only true but truthful. It does not appear that Weetabix’s Chocolate Spoonsize cereal ad lies about anything, however, it is not honest either. The advertisement shows children that eating the chocolate cereal in the morning will fuel them for fun, make them great at what they do so that other kids would be impressed, which is not a truthful message. Additionally, children often have difficulty differentiating between fantasy and reality and may believe that their toys can come alive too. The ad persuades its audience to want the product through deceptive messages, which is unethical.

The Principle of Authenticity suggests that persuaders should sincerely believe in the product and that the product will benefit persuadees (Baker & Martinson, 2001). The advertisement itself makes children believe that eating their product in the morning can make them cool and popular, fueling them for fun, which obviously is an over exaggeration. The persuaders do not seem sincere about the quality of their product, they simply do not share any nutritional information that can benefit their target audience. However, their little audience may see it differently, which is the central goal of the ad.  Additionally, based on the Principle of Respect for the Persuadee, the advertisement does not demonstrate respect for those to whom it is directed. Weetabix attracts its audience with the fun ad serving self-interest, not the well-being of the viewers. On the other hand, one might argue that Weetabix brands itself is a more health-conscious company, priding in cereals that contain less sugar and sodium and more vitamins. Perhaps, Weetabix’s Chocolate Spoonsize cereal does have those qualities, however, it still cannot be considered as a healthy choice for kids’ breakfasts.

The Equity Principle in the TARES Test considers fairness to persuadees (Baker & Martinson, 2001). It does not appear that Weetabix’s marketing team fairly used the power of persuasion in the given advertising because they manipulate its viewers into consuming their product if they want to be as popular and cool as the dancing girl, otherwise they can continue having boring breakfasts alone in their isolated rooms, as it was shown in the first scene of the ad. According to Baker & Martinson, “Persuasive claims should not be made beyond the persuadees’ ability to understand both the context and underlying motivations and claims of the persuader” (2001). This principle was not considered by the makers of the ad. Moreover, as the advertisement’s goal is to make the product appealing to little kids, it serves the self-interest of the company that is not concerned about “the wider public interest or common good” (Baker & Martinson, 2001). Therefore, Weetabix’s Chocolate Spoonsize cereal ad does not fall under TARES’s Principle of Social Responsibility either. The message of the ad does not promote anything harmful for individuals or society, yet it touches a sensitive topic of many young kids who desire to be liked and popular. Certainly eating the chocolate cereal will not do so. A socially responsible ad for children should not feed into anybody’s insecurities, but it should encourage them to be unique and true to themselves without desiring to be popular or liked by everyone.

Logical Fallacies

The Chocolate Spoonsize cereal ad uses Post Hoc fallacy with elements of Slippery Slope. Post hoc is a logical fallacy of assuming that the first action causes the second one because they happened within a short period of time (Bredeson & Goree, 2012). The girl ate a spoon of the chocolate cereal and started a very impressive, even magical, dance. Did the cereal cause the dance? Just because one action follows another does not mean that it was caused by it. The slippery slope fallacy suggests that one small step starts a chain of more significant events. These events are usually unrelated and negative, however, positive Slippery Slopes also exist. The following is an example of the fallacy: if a child eats the Chocolate Spoonsize cereal, he/she will be a great dancer (or great at what they love to do); if he/she becomes a great dancer, he/she will be popular among other kids.

Is the Ad Ethical?

Based on the TARES test evaluation of the advertisement and clearly seeing the fallacious logic in it, the commercial cannot be considered ethical. Furthermore, it should be noted that the ad has one ethical problem – puffery, which is a term that describes statements that are not lies, but very exaggerated (Bredeson & Goree, 2012). Chocolate cereal in the morning does not provide good nutrition or energy a child needs for their actives; it certainly cannot give any super powers or make toys alive. As adults, we realize it and we may even enjoy the entertaining advertisement with a great dance routine. However, does a child see the ad in the same way? Because of children’s vulnerabilities, US laws have been passed to protect them from deceptive ads (Bredeson & Goree, 2012). This particular commercial belongs to the United Kingdom and was aired in 2011. Would this commercial be allowed in the USA in 2016? Most likely the answer would be yes. One might consider it as a beautiful fantasy with nothing unethical in it. However, many parents of children who watch this commercial would think otherwise.

Conclusion

Even though the plot of the ad seems very innocent and entertaining at first, we must remember that it is targeted at children who are especially vulnerable to advertising and who do not percept things the same way adults do. The commercial did not pass the TARES test and has other ethical issues. It uses the egoism principle, considering only the effects their action would have on themselves and their profits. Weetabix claims that the Chocolate Spoonsize cereal contains less sugar and sodium than other similar cereals, however, it is still an unhealthy choice for breakfast that cannot fill little ones for a fun or productive day.

References:

Baker, S. & Martinson, D. (2001). The TARES Test: Five Principles for Ethical Persuasion. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 16(2&3), 148–175. Retrieved August 25, 2016, from Franklin University Database. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc..

Bredeson, D., & Goree, K. (2012). Critical Thinking in Ethics. (p. 168). Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.

Bredeson, D., & Goree, K. (2012). Ethical Selling, Marketing, and Advertising. (p. 70-71). Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.

Weetabix Chocalate Dubstep Cereal Commercial. (2015, January 3). Retrieved August 25, 2016, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2RcYLvmmRU