Orientations to TV advertising among adolescents & children in the US & Japan

Abstract

Adolescents and children in the US and Japan offer an increasingly desirable market segment for advertisers. Considerable advertising effort targets the youth market because children and adolescents have more disposable income than in the past and are believed to be more fashion and brand-conscious. This study looks at how Japanese and US youth compare on their attitudes towards advertising, allowing for parental mediation and stage of cognitive development. Early adolescents (12 years old) and middle adolescents (16 years old) in Japan and the US responded to a survey measuring media use, parental mediation, consumer socialisation and attitudes towards advertising. The results suggest both similarities and differences in advertising orientations between cultures. Means comparisons between countries and age groups identify differences in television use, parental mediation in television viewing, and parental mediation of consumer behaviour. Attitudes towards advertising were consistent between countries. Regression analysis points out further cultural differences.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Sherry

John L. Sherry is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Purdue University. His research investigates the effects of mass media on children.

Bradley Greenberg

Bradley S. Greenberg is university distinguished professor of communication and telecommunication at Michigan State University. His primary research examines the social influences of the mass media. This study was funded by a grant from the Yoshida Foundation of Japan.

Hiroshi Tokinoya

Hiroshi Tokinoya is professor of mass communication at Tokai University in Tokai, Japan. He has strong research interests in the uses and gratifications obtained from the mass media.