A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Photo: Verster Cohen Children’s consumption and marketing to children are big business. Children are the target of marketing for everything from toys and sweets to cosmetics, fast foods and the family car. Children have their own money to spend, and they influence family spending. For example, in June 2013, AdWeek reported that ‘fully [...]
Since the introduction of national tobacco prevention programmes in the 1980s, Australia has experienced declining rates of youth smoking, with the latest figures showing that only 3.4% of 12-17 year-olds smoke daily. Across the wider population we have seen a dramatic shift in the way most Australians regard smoking. Recently, however, novel ways of smoking have come onto the scene which challenge some of the [...]
There’s a growing realisation that consumerism and the ability to acquire more and more stuff such as toys, clothes and digital devices might not be doing our kids many favours. Research from around the world suggests the rampant materialism which affects much of the West could be to blame for a generational malaise of low [...]
Monkeys are savvier than human consumers when it comes to getting value for money, research has shown. Psychological studies have demonstrated how easy it is to fool people into thinking that price reflects quality. In tests, human volunteers consistently prefer the taste of wine poured out of an expensively labelled bottle to exactly the same [...]
One of Australia’s biggest stores has re-launched its brand for the first time in a decade. In its new TV advert, Myer has moved away from its “My Store” brand to a new stance that claims it’s time to “find wonderful.” The advert sets up for the punchline by questioning where wonderful went. Remember when [...]
How would you feel if your bottle of merlot or cider came with a health warning about the increased risk of cancer from drinking alcohol? Doesn't sound like an idea to be warmly embraced by those who like a drink but the findings of a recent West Australian survey of more than 2000 drinkers suggests [...]
Food companies are advertising products such as Kit Kats and Coco Pops to children because they are classified as healthy by their own nutritional standards. A NSW Cancer Council analysis found that 63 per cent of food that appeared in television advertisements was considered unhealthy under Food Standards Australia New Zealand nutrient profiling. The analysis [...]
Did you know that the information provided by a salesperson wearing a red sweater seems more accurate than information provided by a shop assistant in blue? Or that women are more likely to be interested in a service they hear advertised by a man with a creaky voice than a woman with a creaky voice? [...]
It’s predominantly because people evolved to respond intuitively to all sorts of threats, rather than think about them too much. To think about them would require time and effort, so it was eminently more efficient to respond to the fear first and think about it later. Fear can have a powerful effect on our behaviour—motivating [...]
American Apparel has painted itself into a corner in terms of brand image. A cornerstone of its marketing strategy was the voyeuristic, sex-drenched tone employed in many of their photo shoots, but now that appears to be failing as the public perception of the company has moved from edgy to sleazy. Their shoots have received [...]
