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Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Standford's School of Medicine don the Captain Obvious hat and point out what everyone already knew: ads make kids want to buy crap. The interesting bit is that the study examined the effect of game adverts and also pointed out that the effects of advertising can linger in youngsters brains for up to 20 months.
The study surveyed 800 third graders in California and found that on average, they spend 12 hours playing video games and 10 hours watching TV each week. Kids asked their parents for a new toy once a week and food/drink two or three times a week. The concern is that the ads promote fatty foods, leading to increasingly overweight children.
"Younger children aren't even able to understand that ads, which are now cropping up in video games and movies, online and even in cell phones, are intended to sell them things," said Thomas Robinson, MD. "Marketers need to be part of the solution for the obesity epidemic by helping parents, not making it harder for them."
Ideally marketers would be part of the solution, but with advertising dollars driving the industry, it doesn't seem likely. Potato chips, cookies and soft drinks are were the money's at. Healthy in-game advertising? Fat chance. Literally.
Full Story Here [Gamasutra] Thanks, David!
