Adolescent Substance Abuse

Playing with Children’s Minds:

The Psychological Effects of Tobacco Advertisements on Children

Table of Contents

• How do Tobacco Advertisers Apply Behavioral Learning Principles in Ads?

• What Psychological Tactics do Advertisers Use to Get Children to Buy Their Products?

• How Effective are the Psychological Tactics Used in Tobacco Ads in Getting Children to Purchase Their Products?

How do Tobacco Advertisers

Apply Behavioral Learning Principles in Ads?

Having a better understanding and a clearer picture of why adolescents decide to smoke and the development of successful countermeasures are very valuable issues in the public health and social marketing fields today. (Craig 2004)

In trying to determine why adolescents smoke demographic analyses say that there is more of a tendency for older, Caucasian, male youths who are not in school to smoke than there is for other adolescent groups (Jamieson and Romer 2001). Other possible predictors of adolescent smoking consist of social influence (friends or family effects), prior smoking behavior, and imagery portrayed in tobacco advertising (Aloise - Young, Graham, and Hansen 1994; Pechmann and Knight 2002).

Behavioral learning principles apply to many marketing situations. George Perlov, a member of advertising council, stated, “Advertising is an art and a science” (Coffman, 2002). It may be used to create a distinctive brand image or it may link a product to an underlying need. According to Arnett (2001) almost all smoking initiation takes place during adolescence, and the appeal of cigarette advertising is frequently proposed as one of the reasons adolescents begin smoking. (p 425) To better understand how tobacco advertisers create ads using psychology to change children’s buying behavior, this paper will briefly discuss two behavioral theories in the following section.

One behavioral learning theory used by tobacco advertisers is classical conditioning. As demonstrated by Pavlov, classical conditioning occurs when a stimulus that brings forth a response is paired with another stimulus that originally wouldn’t cause that response. Over time, the stimulus that would not bring forth a response will bring forth the same response as the first stimulus. It is now associated with the first stimulus (Bower, 1989). Many classic advertising campaigns consist of product slogans that have been repeated so many times that they are fixed in consumers’ minds. An example of a tobacco ad that was aimed at boys and used classical conditioning is the “Marlboro Man.” The “Marlboro Man” is just a character, but he is associated with being “ruff and rugged” (Liu, 2000). Arnett mentions an advertisement that attracted female’s attention, “Capri and Virginia Slims” were perceived as slim, mature, and good looking.

Another example is cigarette ads that show young people having a good time at a party and smoking. A child viewing this ad may begin to associate that happy feeling with the cigarette.

Another behavioral learning theory is called operant conditioning. Operant conditioning, as demonstrated by Skinner, occurs when an individual learns to perform behaviors that produce positive outcomes and avoid those that produce negative outcomes (bower, 1989). Operant conditioning is being used when a consumer is rewarded for a purchase decision. Tobacco advertisers use operant conditioning when they reward customers with prizes for using their product. An example of this appears to be, “Camel” cigarettes and their use of “Camel Cash.” This promotion promises kids that if they buy Camel cigarettes they will be rewarded with free sunglasses or flip-flops and other promotional items (Hammer, 2001).

Tobacco advertisers use these theories when they are creating advertisements that are targeted towards children. Children are so important to the tobacco industry that they have done research on children using hidden cameras, interviews, and psychological test to